We’re currently on vacation in Pennsylvania. We left last week in our RV and meandered our way down here. The weather is a bit warmer than we’re accustomed to, and humid, too, but the delicious home cooking found here, along with the beautiful scenery, makes it all definitely worthwhile!

You can read about our travels here: https://www.wirelesstrips.com

Now, if you’ll excuse me, the children want me to take them swimmming. 😉

GUEST COLUMNIST!

In response to last week’s column, One of the scariest days EVER… , Jacquelyn McTaggart sent in the following story. I enjoyed it so much, I paid her to let me run it here for you. Enjoy!

Is Your Daddy Home? By Jacquelyn McTaggart

The boss at E-Creative needed to call one of his employees about an urgent problem with one of the main computers. He dialed the employee’s home phone number and was greeted with a child’s whispered, “Hello?”

Feeling put out at the inconvenience of having to talk to a youngster, the boss asked, “Is your Daddy home?”

“Yes,” whispered the small voice.

“May I talk to him?” the man asked.

To the surprise of the boss, the small voice whispered, “NO.”

Wanting to talk to an adult, the boss asked, “Is your Mommy there?”

“Yes” came the answer.

“May I talk with her?”

Again the small voice whispered, “No!”

Knowing that it was not likely that a young child would be left home alone, the boss decided he would just leave a message with the person who should be there watching over the child. “Is there any one there besides you?” the boss asked the child.

“Yes”, whispered the child, “A policeman.”

Wondering what a cop would be doing at his employee’s home, the boss asked, “May I speak with the policeman?”

“No, he’s busy,” whispered the child.

“Busy doing what?” asked the boss.

“Talking to Mommy and Daddy and the Fireman,” came the whispered answer.

Growing concerned and even worried as he heard what sounded like a helicopter through the earpiece on the phone the boss asked, “What is that noise?”

“A hello-copper.” answered the whispering voice.

“What is going on there?” asked the boss, now alarmed.

In an awed, whispering voice the child answered, “The search team just landed the hello-copper!”

Alarmed, concerned and more than just a little frustrated, the boss asked, “Why are they there?”

Still whispering, the young voice replied along with a muffled giggle, “They’re looking for me!”

In 2001, Jacquie McTaggart retired from a 42-year teaching career and began to write about her passion – kids and learning. Several of her articles have been published in national magazines and on the Internet. She also writes weekly columns on education for two daily newspapers. Her book,From the Teacher’s Desk, discusses educational issues and parental practices that affect the learning process. It’s available from booklocker.com HERE.