Sybil Bruncheon's "A Whole Month of Thanksgiving!"...

...or should we say a HOWL Month???

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Sybil Bruncheon's Christmas Stories Far & Near:.. Gaye Ann Beeker…

Gaye Ann Beeker was the most reserved member of the Beeker family, a large, prosperous, and prominent one in the Shaker Heights area. They had made their money in the 1800s in coal, and later in natural gas, and then on to automobile parts and finance. Wise investments matched with conservative spending saved them from the vagaries of the market, even through the Crash and the Depression. The Beekers were known for their philanthropy, generous but not ostentatious, although their names did appear on hospitals, museums, schools, universities, and even several dinner theatres and petting zoos.

It was Gaye Ann who had a soft spot for the more vulnerable recipients of the family's charities, particularly wildlife and domestic animals. She had spear-headed relief for circus animals and for better and more humane zoos, and she was reported to be the secret underground leader of a group of citizens who used terror tactics on pet shops and their owners who were discovered to be abusing or neglecting animals in their care. "The Rabid Rabbits", as they were called, were presumed to be a gang of well-funded vigilantes capable, as time went by, of increasing violence. Their members were sworn to secrecy, and no infiltration ever took place from outside authorities since their dedication was so heart-felt. And besides, who would ever suspect an heiress to such a fortune as the head of a terror gang?

Of course, Gaye Ann's natural disguise helped her. She had Methuselah Syndrome, a hereditary fluke. Here she is at 11 years of age at the height of her power, looking like "a kindly middle-aged lady" or "a frumpy housewife"..but actually an assassin!....And here's her little dachshund Kiełbaso, and that's just what she's reported to have yelled to him on their midnight raids; "KEEEEL, Basso! KEEEEL! KEEEEL!!!".......

[Postscript: Though the Social Register described her as "the most reserved member of the Beeker family", she, Kielbaso, and her friends and associates continued on as a vigilante group saving animals from hateful abusers. You see she had read "The Scarlet Pimpernel", and it affected her deeply. And she turned what some might think of as a liability into a tool of triumph and vengeance. She never married, but was much loved by folks and animals far and wide. She eventually died at 18 years of age, very happy and fulfilled. Kielbaso passed away in his sleep just two days later at the age of 136.]

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Sybil Bruncheon's "A Whole Month Of Thanksgiving!"... Abundance??

Abundance, even in a time of want! Friends, did you know that during the Great Depression of the 1930s so many American families were facing insecurity, and even hunger and homelessness? All across the wide country, fathers tried to hold on to their jobs while mothers struggled to stretch a dollar as far as it would go... even to maintaining a staff of servants who could keep the house clean, the gardens tended, the laundry washed and ironed, and the meals cooked and presented properly! If there was any corner to be cut, it might be in substituting different dietary choices for traditional ones. It wasn't spoken of widely, but, instead of an expensive turkey from the trusty butcher for Thanksgiving, Mother might substitute a family pet. And you know, it wasn't always so stressful or heartbreaking either... especially if it was a neighbor’s dog from down the street.

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LITTLE GISELLE...

.....to be a gypsy in those days was to wander the countryside appearing in county fairs, carnivals, and village festivals of questionable repute. Little Giselle had come from a long line of fortune-tellers, clairvoyants, phrenologists, palm readers, and crystal ball gazers... She herself was considered a prodigy and possibly a savant in her ability to hear a customer's birthday (day, month, year!), and their birthplace, and, without a globe to check longitude and latitude or any sky charts to check for astronomical details, she could perfectly recite their zodiac profile... all the planets, aspects, conjunctions, rising signs, the trigons and trines, everything in a chart that it would take the average astrologer a week to diagram on paper, she could do in her head in seconds.

And, even if the client was a skeptic and didn't believe in astrology, Giselle could then astound people with their subtle personality details, the hopes, the dreams, even their fears. Her family and the extended "family" of the other travelers in the caravans and carnivals would whisper and nod sagely whenever little Giselle would walk into the communal tents for lunch, often alone as her parents knew that she was old, wise and very old for her years, which numbered only six.

Everyone knew she could handle herself with great dignity and composure. And at a time of greater innocence when children were less likely to be harmed by strangers, and when families watched out for each other's children more aggressively, no one worried about her independence.. It was in this world that Giselle, (Giselle Barund-Keelikov), wandered off from the encampment one afternoon in early November when the chill had started to settle in on the world of the open road and the lifestyle that was lived there.

The morning frost had reluctantly given way to the grey sun that fretfully wandered low across the horizon and was already promising to disappear behind the leafless trees to the West, and at 4:30 in the afternoon! Parents were folding up their trade carts and novelty-wagons a little earlier...the clouds were rolling up and some of the older folks could "smell rain", possibly in the next hour or so.

Visitors to the sad little carnival had been few and far between, and many of the gypsy families were already planning their yearly trek down to the Southern towns and villages for their warmer weather and cheerier atmosphere. Giselle had been seen sitting with her bowl of sweet turnip chowder and her beloved butter-crackers that Widow Crentski made especially just for her. A few of the older men tipped their caps to Giselle, giving their respects to her parents, or conferred with her about important matters, a cow's successful calving in the Spring, a possible match made between the tinsmith's son and the saddlemaker's daughter...

When she was finished, she paid the nice lady the correct amount of money and left the proper gratuity which her parents had carefully educated her about. She smiled and nodded to the other diners. She thanked the wife of the candy-maker who complimented her on her nice hat, and then moving out of the tent with a short glance back over her shoulder, she was never seen again...

A local miller was questioned by authorities several weeks later who claimed that he'd seen a little girl sitting on the roadside, perhaps on the day in question, he couldn't be sure. He remembered that she seemed to be conferring very seriously with a dog and a horse... he was sure he heard her elaborately discussing something about the stars and the "constellations" (a word he recalled from a scientist who had visited a pub and told fascinated listeners about over several tankards of ale). Oh, and one other thing too... he heard the little girl say the words "pegasus", "can us major" or something like that, and that she was very "serious" about it all. She would pat her animal friends as she chatted, looking deeply into their eyes, and the miller remarked that the dog and horse seemed to be listening intently and appeared to be deep in thought.

The authorities were somewhat impatient with him and asked why he didn't speak to the little girl, especially since she was unaccompanied on the open road. Why didn't he question her, or find out where her family was... he paused, looked down for a minute and then said without irony that he didn't think it was his place to interrupt what was clearly a serious conversation. Didn't she use the term "serious" over and over in the few sentences he heard as he passed by? Didn't she point at the sky and then trace an arc of some sort from the South East to the North West and then point first to the dog and then to the horse...?? What could it all mean.

He told the inspector that he wanted to stay and listen.. Though only slightly educated and forced to leave school as a teenager, he had always been fascinated by wiser people, and the little girl seemed to be very, very wise... strangely so. Was he at all concerned that she might have come to harm being alone on the road, accompanied only by a dog and a horse in the gathering twilight as the sun vanished and the first stars started to twinkle in the dusky East?... "No.", he said and smiled. "There are souls here that move among us with a journey of their own... we are mere watchers... and we should stand aside as they pass."

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SYBIL PREDICTS!!!... #66....

SYBIL PREDICTS!!!... yes, folks, it's that time again when I make my predictions for the New Year and those mysterious days lying ahead of us...

Prediction #66: In this next year, with the oncoming famine, animals both domestic and in the wild will disappear. Tragically, trusting household pets will be the first to go. Formerly loving owners will first turn on their aquarium fish, reptiles, snakes, iguanas, then small and very cute rodents, then parakeets and the larger bird species, and finally dogs and cats! The heartbreak will rend society's very fabric. Families will be torn asunder. And the morals and basic laws of civilization will begin to vanish. For the few who can maintain their sanity in the face of all this loss, the creation of "Fashion-Accessories-As-Pets" will open new vistas for comfort and companionship. ..... By 2023, all Petland Discount Stores will be converted to Pradas.

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BREAKING NEWS from the CNN news desk: WEATHER BULLETIN!!!

... horrible! HORRIBLE!!... Panic has set in all over the North East as the blizzard closes in on millions of terrified citizens from Washington DC to Boston. Grocery shelves are completely empty, and so... people, normally loving and civilized people are considering the unthinkable! They have begun to look at their own beloved four-legged friends...their pets!... Their "fur-babies"...as food! FOOD, DAMMIT!.... The ASPCA and Bide-A Wee have issued alerts to household animals, residents of zoos, and passing wildlife to be on guard! Take nothing for granted! A smiling human, even someone you consider a friend, should now be considered armed and extremely dangerous until the storm has passed! Be especially cautious around veterinarians, short-order cooks, and Facebook food-group administrators! Please! Save yourself and your litter from becoming an entrée, a tray of hors d'oeuvres, or a bedtime snack! You have been warned! An outstretched hand familiar by sight and smell, and even holding a so-called “treat” may be the hand of a stranger....AND A STRANGLER!! Run! RUN....and FETCH YOUR OWN SAFETY!!!

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CHRISTMAS MUSIC: Guilty Pleasures & Dirty Confessions... "Jingle Bells"

CHRISTMAS MUSIC: Guilty Pleasures & Dirty Confessions / The Holiday Music Edition..... I know it's very tacky, but I start listening to the Music Choice "Sounds of the Seasons" channel on cable during Thanksgiving week.... As silly as it is to many people, I sometimes just enjoy the simple pleasure of Christmas carols to ease my mind and lower my stress.

Having said that and admitting my “Guilty Pleasure”, I now must add my “Dirty Confession” that I despise some of their Christmas offerings!!!!…. Like The Singing Dogs’ rendition of “Jingle Bells”! I am widely known as a rabid animal lover! I ADORE dogs, but this recording has driven me to the point of eating in Korean restaurants…. IN SEOUL!!!

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Sybil Bruncheon's "30 DAYS OF THANKSGIVING!"..... heel! HEEL!....

"Here Fritzi! I'll have the left-over Smirnoff's and YOU have the left-over olives!!... and don't throw up on the carpet again!"....     

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Sybil Bruncheon's 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN: A Dog's Life!…

So many of us are animal lovers, not just sharing our homes with four-legged friends, but also enjoying showing off our companions and entering them in pet shows; both local, small ones and in national and international competitions! Did you know that in 1926, Chief Baaquli NacNac from Rhodesia entered his Swahili Hound, "Pom-Pmumbo" in the Westminster Dog Show and won the overall Best-In-Show!?!...

But imagine the gathered celebrities', reporters', and officials' horror when Chief NacNac then offered to serve Pom-Pmumbo at the victory banquet afterwards....... as hors d'oeuvres!! The judges finally convinced the chief that it was the WRONG thing to do.... "Pom-Pmumbo" lived to be 34 years old and died in his sleep after a long and joyous life on a British estate belonging to the Earl of Croquitte.

(Postscript: Interestingly, eight years later, Chief Baaquli NacNac, after a good will tour of Borneo, was eaten by cannibals at a Birthday banquet for the chief of the Xhthu-lu-ulus. He had been invited as a foreign guest-of-honor, not realizing that meant that he would actually be the salad course.)

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Sybil Bruncheon's Weekend Wonder-Stories.... "WHAT MARY-JONELLE HAD TO HEAR!"...

Rex was selected by the other pets to break the news to Mary-Jonelle at the next tea party. It was their usual Friday afternoon get-together, so it seemed all very spontaneous, but the animals had decided that they were going to let her have it! ...that things really had gone too, too far! And so, as Rex made the usual announcements about theatre outings, potential ski-weekends, bake sale dates, and flower arranging classes, everyone but Mary-Jonelle tensed up for what was coming next...

What would she say? What would she DO?...Would she run to her parents and tattle on all of them?? Rex paused after a particularly funny little anecdote about jonquils which brought an appreciative chuckle from everyone including Mary-Jonelle, and then he began... Later on, as she dried her tears in her fine linen napkin, she realized they were all correct about the situation, and that she needed to know the truth. And all of her animal friends were very relieved that she had taken it so well. Both Mittens and Mrs. Whiskers agreed that she was quite mature for a 5 year old, and Tum-Wiggle complimented her on how articulate she was… for a human.

At that point, Mary-Jonelle sat up straight in her chair and offered to pour another round of tea for the group as the family butler came in to see if everything was alright. He noticed that little Miss Mary-Jonelle might have been crying and asked if he could do anything, but she smiled with great composure, and dismissed him lightly with a wave of her tiny hand and a gracious, "Thank you, no, Mr. Carruthers!"... and that was that. Rex was very proud of her... and everyone commented on how tasty the butter-biscuits were...

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