For whom these tales toll
by E. Ching-Ching Cernada
I was told in retirement, you will need a couple of serious, or a dozen casual hobbies to keep your mind and body active, healthy and happy, and to keep out of mischief and idleness. So I dabbled in painting, writing, volunteering, gardening, jewelry redesigning, etc. In the last two years I started to put more serious effort into dancing and writing.
I attended several writing workshops. I learned:
Writing is a safe, inexpensive and easy to play game. You only need a notebook, a pen and yourself (maybe a dictionary too).
It keeps your mind busy and helps to continue orienting yourself toward your goals and purposes in life.
Nobody else can tell your story, not the way you want it told.
Writing is a gift you give to yourself.
Most of the stories in this collection were written on Wednesday evenings, for Thursday afternoons’ writing workshop assignments. You may even call these “Wednesday Evening’s Tales”. Nothing like a “deadline”！ Though, some days I still used the “dog ate my homework，，excuse.
I hastily put these drafts together for a remembrance: for our 50th wedding anniversary and my three quarter century birthday.
A heartfelt thank you goes to my better half, George Cernada, a professional editor and writer, who tried to edit this book, especially for painstakingly correcting numerous grammatical errors. I know he would rather watch Red Sox games anytime. Thanks also go to our writing workshop buddies for their encouragement, and for their patience in sitting through my weekly reading of these stories.
