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$10.00 |
Tennis Shoe Love
Book/narrative poem
Parkway Publishers, 2006
A young boy writes, “I love you,” on the end of his tennis
shoe at school; he then sticks his shoe out in the aisle to
share his secret note with his girlfriend. His secret is
revealed and (almost) everything goes wrong.
“This book is for anyone who has loved, and
anyone who hopes to sometime love again... If you don’t end by
hugging the book, look around for someone nice to hug
instead.”
“...Shannon crafts on of the finest love stories I’ve ever
read in a 28-page, beautifully illustrated book.”
~ Schuyler Kaufman in Carolina Mountain Living, Winter 2006/07 |
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$10.00 |
My Old Gray Coat
Book of poetry, essays, short stories
Parkway Publishers, 2007
“...Thank you for your excellent presentation of My Old
Gray Coat..."
~ Carol Reinhardt, Gaston-Lincoln Regional Library
Some Titles and Samples
Click on the bold titles to read an excerpt.
My Old Gray Coat
A Fountain of Blessing Has Come
Suwannee River Snakes
Grandfather Mountain
Perhaps They Heard
Elementary Wonder
The First Day of School
Taking the Test
The Gospel Ship |
Grandfather Mountain
An old man sleeps eternally alone
Resting peacefully on his bed of stone
The trees are his beard and the wind his comb
I see Grandfather Mountain...
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Perhaps They Heard
A Memorial Day Salute
About ten years ago I was on my way to Harrisburg,
Pennsylvania to play for a wedding. Until I noticed the
monuments and tombstones, I didn’t realize that my route
took me through the heart of the Gettysburg Battlefield. It
was dusk, late in the fall; the trees were bare, the air
cold and gray, and the park was empty. I had a little extra
time, so I decided to look around—to imagine the sights and
sounds and to feel the significance of this historic place.
Narrow roads and split rail fences separated the present
from the past and the secular from the sacred. As if
walking, I drove slowly through the rolling hills: past
where Picket charged and where McPherson farmed, past waves
of white tombstones and autumn leaves at rest, and past my
ability to measure and to comprehend...
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Elementary Wonder
In the second grade, I remember the Halloween Carnival at
Bayview Elementary School. I remember the crowds, candy
apples, and cotton candy. I remember a lot of adults wore
big round buttons with a picture of a baldheaded man. The
buttons said, “I like Ike.” I didn’t know who Ike was, but I
remember I liked the “I like Ike” buttons and I wanted one.
But I didn’t get one.
I think the same year we were told we had to go up to the
school one afternoon to get some medicine. Of course, I
didn’t want to go. I was thinking about the long needle that
Dr. Templeton used when he gave us shots. I didn’t want the
medicine. Besides, being sick wasn’t always that bad.
Sometimes, when I got better after being sick, which was
usually a day or two, our family would eat out, and I was
allowed to get a vanilla milkshake.
To get our medicine at school, we had to stand in a long
line. When I came to the medicine table, I saw a nurse
squirt something on to a sugar cube. No needle! I liked the
medicine and wanted some more. It was a polio vaccine. The
nurse said we could only have one medicine. I knew what
polio was. A boy at my school had polio and had to wear
leather and steel braces on his legs. I never saw the kid
with polio play kickball.
One time when I was sick, though, I didn’t get to stay at
home. I had boils on my butt and mother made me take a
pillow to school to sit on. Everyone looked at me. I felt
like I was sitting on top of a tall mountain. It was
terrible and made me sweat.
In the third grade I had to dress-up like a little German
boy for the Christmas pageant. Our class sang “O Christmas
Tree,” and we learned one verse in German. My costume was
made of stiff leather shorts, and it had leather suspenders.
I didn’t like being a little German boy, but I did like “O
Christmas Tree” with the German verse.
In the fourth grade for the May Day festival, our school had
a flower contest. I had no interest in a flower contest. But
then I heard that the winner got a silver dollar. I picked
some flowers from my mother’s garden and put them in a left
over Easter basket, and I took my flowers to school. The
room where all the flowers were kept had big expensive
arrangements, like they had been bought in a store. I felt
ashamed. I wished I hadn’t entered that silly contest. A day
or two later they called my name and gave me the silver
dollar. I still have it.
In the sixth grade I think I had my second real girl friend.
I say I think because I’m not sure. It was near the end of
the school year and we were playing kick ball. I think maybe
I kicked a homerun or did something heroic and was feeling
pretty proud. While I was resting under a pine tree, Donna
came up and started talking to me. The prettiest girl in the
school was talking to me! Then she started kicking my feet,
just barely, not hard at all. I didn’t understand why she
was doing that. Then she stood on my left foot and small
sharp rock jabbed through my tennis shoe. I screamed in
pain. She ran off, and we didn’t get married.
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The Old Gospel Ship
Puberty hit at about the same time that Elvis and Pat Boone
were vying for our nation’s soul. I was encouraged to avoid
Elvis and to emulate Pat Boone, which is why I wore white
buck shoes and secretly listened to “All Shook Up.” I liked
Pat Boone and Elvis. By the age of twelve, I had lost my
innocence...
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