May 7, 2001
Steven Pressman was reading the "Personals" in the Little Timber Times. Yes, his wife was off playing bridge, as usual, on a Friday night. He did have this week's vast collection of Chemistry tests finally corrected. Of course, there was nothing worth watching on TV. Damn this was pathetic, he thought, still....
There was a thank-you for all the get-well cards and hospital visits from a Mrs. Slocum. She was 85 and a great grandmother. And a reminder that the Jones' family reunion at the Community Center would be on May 13th. Then Father Holcomb was thanking all the people of the town for sending donations to the parish auction for African famine relief.
Finally, there was a request for interested women to "...contact Charity Kegan, if interested in helping to form a support group for family and personal issues." Steve wondered what this was all about. Some dissatisfied feminists, he thought, probably annoyed with their husbands. He chuckled and moved on to the classifieds.
March 15, 2002
Steve was pleased to see a front page picture of several of his students who had reached the district competition level with their science projects. All three were girls and besides being good students, they all seemed to have a talent for presenting their information in a visually attractive way.
April 2, 2002
The Little Timber Times
Junior Girl Winner at Science Fair
Carole Kegan, a Little Timber junior, recently finished 3rd in the Regional Science Fair competition. Her project was titled "Growth Hormones and Chickens". Steve had to give up a beautiful spring day to chaperone his entire chemistry class to Portland. The group had wanted to support Carole and, incidentally, get a shopping visit to the big city.
It had been worth it except for Monica's unwillingness to go along. Or as she put it, "Why should I give up my weekend to accompany a bunch of giggling teenagers to Portland?" Fortunately, Carole's mother and several other parents had volunteered for the long bus ride.
June 12, 2002
The Little Timber Times
Time for a Spring Tune-up. Interior decorating. Design. Furnishings. Window Treatments. Wallhangings. Picture framing. You name it, I'll fix it to your specifications. Free estimates. Call Charity Kegan today!
Charity had three calls the first week and was very pleased that her new venture seemed to have gotten off to a good start. Of course Dick, her devoted hubby, wasn't as thrilled as he'd opposed her starting her own business from the beginning. Or as he put it, "I make more than enough money as it is. We don't need you running all over town with another hare-brained scheme on your mind." She ignored him.
June14, 2002
"So how was your first practice?" Steve was quizzing his twelve year-old daughter Julie.
"It was awesome. Mrs. Keegan is so cool and she wants me to pitch. Will you and mom be coming to all my Saturday tournaments?"
"Sure honey. You know I'll be there."
Monica wasn't too likely to attend many games, though. She was the country club's "social director", whatever the hell that meant. It seemed to take all Saturday afternoons and most of the evenings. Setting up a few tournaments, planning award dinners, and entertainment; vital stuff, he thought.
August 4, 2002
So the team had been decent but not great. Actually Julie was a very good softball pitcher. Charity was an excellent coach. The girls had shown improvement with every game. The fact that the vivacious red-headed coach was a stunning looker didn't hurt from the male fan's viewpoint, either. He had always seen her in slacks and a blouse, mother attire, or occasionally with the "business woman's look".
Now, tight cut-offs and a tank top had revealed a whole new woman. A curly-haired strawberry blonde who had a killer smile to go with it. He was, in any case though, a look-but-don't-touch kind of guy. Besides, being in her late thirties, she had to be twenty years younger than him.
August 6, 2002
Steve had just loaded his Labrador retriever in the truck. She was his surrogate companion as Monica considered a week of camping and fly-fishing in the mountains of Idaho time not well spent. It was his only real vacation, considering his myriad summer repair jobs and yard work around the house. He looked forward to the outing each and every year.
Sept. 3, 2003
The Little Timber Times
Local Woman Named Chamber Newcomer of the Year
The Little Timber Chamber of Commerce recently recognized Charity Kegan as its outstanding new member for her up and coming design studio. Charity, a long-time local resident, thanked the membership for the honor at their annual ""Founders Day" recognition meeting. Her husband Dick is President of Fidelity Savings and Loan.
December 15, 2003
Steve sat in his favorite easy chair by the fireplace watching the large, wet snowflakes drift silently to the ground. He had just finished reading Time magazine and his mind drifted to his momentary boredom.
"I need a winter hobby," he thought, then chuckled, shook his head, and shivered. "Three seasons of outdoors is enough," was his obvious conclusion. Not a cold-weather guy, hanging by the fireplace and reading was about as adventurous as he could handle.
He was startled as the phone rang unexpectedly.
"Hello?"
"Steve! This is Charity. How are you doing?"
"Watching the snowflakes and I'm just fine," he replied and then wondered where this unexpected call was leading.
"Beautiful out there tonight, isn't it? Say, Julie tells me you've been sponsoring a chess club for students this year."
"Well yeah, it's mostly for the younger players who are showing up. It actually helps with their math thinking skills. Also..."
She interjected quickly, "I know it and I've been thinking..."
Oh oh; Mrs. Organizer on the loose, he thought to himself. She really could put things together, though. The numerous school-sponsored activities that required adult volunteers were a case in point.
"So what do you have in mind?" he queried. Her response caught him totally by surprise.
"Dick used to play a lot of chess when he was in high school. You know, there might be more than a few adults around who might like to rekindle that interest for a wintertime activity."