The "Anniversary Post" Story

It was an ordinary day.  September 2, 2009 and I had just posted my first story on "Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy."  Well, it's been seven years since I first posted the story about the white rats that my grandpap bought for me when I was a young boy at a farmer's market in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania known as Root's Farmer's Market and Auction.  Story about how they escaped in the family basement while we were at church and how we managed to catch all of them.  Click on the link along the page for 2009 and read it if you care to.  Today begins the eighth year of stories and I want to thank you for reading a few over the years.  Some of the stories were about ... crash landing while taking a hot air balloon ride, visiting downtown Lancaster to see Presidential candidate John F. Kennedy, watching the birth of my children, traveling with friends Jerry and Just Sue to some of the most beautiful islands in the Caribbean, setting up a print shop in a pup-tent in my back yard when I was a young boy, buying my first car and eating French croissants for breakfast every morning for three weeks while on the island of St. Martin.  But, perhaps my all-time favorite story I have written, which I still tell today to friends, or anyone who will listen to it, is about a young boy named Noel  and the good laugh we had one day during Photography class at Manheim Township High School where I taught for years.  So, you know what's coming ... don't you?  Just one more time for good luck, as they say. So, here is the story, just as I posted it on Friday, September 11, 2009 .........

It was an ordinary day. My 1st period photography class was just about over. Today I had Noel Y. in class. Years before I had coached Noel in Little League baseball. I always pitched batting practice to my 13-14 year old players. One day Noel hit a line drive at me and broke my finger. The next day at practice I told Noel, "One day I'll get even with you!", just joking with him. Well, here we are in 1st period class with a few minutes left before the bell. "Tell us a story, Mr. Woods" someone said. The students always loved to hear my family stories, since I had all 3 of my children in class and all my students knew at least one of them. I told the story of how all three of my kids were ill at one time or another with mono. "My youngest son was in the hospital for a few days because he was so ill, my daughter missed over a week of class because of her illness, but my oldest son really had it bad. He was in the hospital for a few days and when he came home he developed a large lump the size of a softball on his neck from the mono. Back to the hospital where they drained the lump and put a tube in his neck so it could be re-drained when necessary. It was so gross that my wife had to....." Just then I heard a crash next to me. Noel Y. was on the floor. The room went quiet. I sent a student for the nurse and cleared the students from the area around Noel. I got down on the floor to examine him to see if he had hurt himself from the fall off his stool. No visible marks so I wiped his forehead with my handkerchief. He opened his eyes and looked at me and apologized for passing out. It seems he had no breakfast that day and the story was too much for him. After realizing he was going to be fine I helped him to a sitting position so he could rest against the cabinets until the nurse arrived. I looked him in the eye and said, "Now we're even!" The students were astonished I would say something like that to him, but Noel got a big smile on his face and said "Yep." Just another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

Since that story about eight years ago I have written over 2,500 more stories and almost half a million visits to my blog have happened.  And that is only after I added a counter to my blog about four years after I started it.  Remarkable is all I can say!  Thank you so much for visiting and reading the stories of my life and the adventures of my family and friends.  I'm aiming for many more or until my fingers can no longer push the keys on my Apple.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.