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marissa's 10th birthday party
Saturday, March 5: Paul
and Freckles were honored to be
asked by Paul and Trish's
granddaughter Marissa to provide
the "entertainment" for the guests at her birthday party. So
on Saturday, Paul, Trish, and Freckles
drove to Georgia for
the festivities.
Marissa's
parents, Phil and Leisa,
and
Grandma Donna from Ohio
had provided, appropriately,
a
dog theme
to every aspect of the party, and GT (Grandma
Trish) helped
out by bringing dog
napkins and dog
bone
suckers for the
kids. Paul told everyone about Freckles'
story of survival,
and gave them some animal tips, including
how to safely
meet a dog
they don't know.
Paul even ran a mini creative writing workshop
in which
the girls at the party helped him create a most interesting
character for a book he's writing. They invented Sylvia
Bobine, a tall, skinny girl with light
brown hair and blue
eyes. Sylvia, the girls determined,
was friendly, "but has
an attitude." Great fun!
It was a parent (honestly, it was a real-life "adult") who
suggested that perhaps the youngsters would like to eat
their cake like dogs. Whoo-eee.
Paul
and Trish
and Freckles wisely "had to leave" before
the clean-up. If you look closely in the middle photograph
(below), you'll see Freckles trying desperately to get away
from the mess! "We might push our faces into our bowls,"
said Freckles, "but we would never waste food by getting
it on our noses like that. You're giving us a bad name here."
What a great time we had!
haw creek elementary
Monday, March 7: Paul and
Freckles gave three presentations
today and saw all 470 K-5 students at this Asheville school.
Before Paul began speaking, one girl in the kindergarten class
asked Trish, "Are we all going to get a puppy?" She
might
have been disappointed with the answer, but she smiled
when she got to pet Freckles at the end of the talk. Later, a
third grader asked Paul, "What sequence do you use when
you're writing non-fiction?" Now there's a writer in the making!
Tuesday, March 7: We all went
back to this great school for
their twice-a-year book sale. We met many of the parents of
the youngsters we'd seen the day before. Deborah, the media
specialist at the school, had created several great signs for
our table. Super people at this school!
buncombe county library
Thursday, March 10: An
absolutely wonderful audience of
youngsters two- to four-years-old listened to Paul tell
Freckles' story. Then they each got a chance to practice
the "doggie handshake" as they came through the line to
meet and pet Freckles. Many thanks to Donna Hawthorne
who regularly hosts the reading hour at the library for putting
together this event. ABC Channel 13 covered the talk and
aired the piece on their five o'clock news tonight.
Mission hospital
Saturday, March 12: Trish and
Paul visited some pretty
special youngsters at this hospital in down Asheville. This
was our orientation day and their hosts were Norma (an
most giving person who volunteers at the hospital) and
Pamala Hardin (who had her incredibly laid back basset
hound Smudge. Once Smudge was hoisted up onto the
kids' beds, he "endured" much petting and brushing and
hugging. What an inspiring day. Freckles will join us on
next visit in two weeks, and the hospital will be part of
her ongoing schedule.
weaverville primary
Monday, March 14: 250 K-1
students welcomed Paul,
Freckles, and Trish to their school in Weaverville NC.
They asked great questions ("What's it like to be a
writer," asked a girl in the first grade) and put on their
"dog hats" to imagine what it's like to be a dog meeting
a stranger. One parent said her first grader came to her
at 2:00 a.m. and asked, "Is this the day I get to meet
Freckles?" What a wonderful experience
school
principal
Kay Southern and media specialist Mark Ussery provided
us! Bob Leary, a reporter from the Weaverville Tribune,
took the pictures (below) and wrote a great story that
appeared in the paper. (We think
Freckles loves to be in
the paper and on TV!)
black mountain correctional
center for women
Tuesday, March 15: Paul met with the staff
and got a
tour of the Black Mountain
Correctional Center for
Women in Black Mountain NC. This western North
Carolina
prison runs a dog rehabilitation program similar
to the one in Arizona that was instrumental in saving
Freckles and her puppies. Paul and Freckles are
seeking ways to volunteer at the facility.
Mission hospital
Saturday, March 26: Freckles
met some very neat kids
today at Mission Hospital in Asheville NC. "Am I supposed
to be on the bed with him?" she seemed to be wondering
in the first room we visited. Once she understood that it
was all right, she eagerly climbed into bed with the other
kids in their rooms. What a rewarding day that was for
everyone involved!
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