We Reviewed 45 African Books in 2022 | This is What We Discovered

jim r lowenstern August 19, 2023 00:50

book on our RoseDog bookstore recently. Dorrance paperback: https://rosedogbookstore.com/eat-the-cookie/ Dorrance eBook: https://rosedogbookstore.com/eat-the-cookie-ebook/ actual pages from story page 3 Mary Montgomery Looked out the window as the rain poured down. Puddles were forming on what had once been a street. As long as Mary had lived on Cabot's Lane, she couldn't remember the street being paved. Maybe ten years ago the government did those poor people a favor by paving the road. Brrrinng, the phone rang. Mary picked it up the classic styled bronze phone. "Hello Mary this is Ethel." "Ethel, how are you? Dreadful weather we're having . Its been two weeks hasn't it?" "Mary, I have a problem. Do you know my check hasn't come in?" "They're always late these days." "Mary my check is green." "Oh that means it is two weeks late ." "Mary I've got to eat." "Ethel, why don't you go to the welfare center?" "I did wednesday, I got the run around. Your check Madam should come in the mail today. Those bastards , Oh, how polite those bastards act. I said to him, "My check is one week and three days late. My husband and children have to eat" " Madam, this is all the time I can give you." This other brute then escorted me to the door. The lines are so long, just for the run around. All my friends with green checks haven't received them either. Mary, could you go to the center for me?" "Well Ethel, I don't know." "I just want my check. I tried to do it myself, I think you can get it got me. Look my ride is here. We're going to the country, maybe we'll find something." "Maybe, Good luck Ethel, I'll go to the center before it closed tonight. Bye." "Goodbye." page 4 Mary put the earphone on the hook. She leaned back on the red leather lounge sinking into the soft cushion. She wondered where Richard was and if she had been too hard on him. The boy didn't want to go to school or work. I tried, I tried, she thought as she looked across the room at Richard's graduation picture. He had blue eyes, short well kept hair, a compact square jaw. He once had such aspirations. A lawyer, he was going to be a lawyer. Crack Mary's head shook out of her dream. She bolted up and ran to the window. She saw a bunch of youth gesturing at a police car that had just fired a shot. she looked for a dead body but there wasn't any. Just as well, a warning shot. Mary glanced at the grandfather clock it was 4:30. She had until 6:00 to get to the welfare office. She went over to the closet, opened it, and stared at all of her coats. For such a bad day, maybe I should wear this awful coat my son gave me. what is it, a pea coat? Mary slipped her coat on and went out the door. Outside, the rain had lessened, but the wind whipped up. Mary walked at a furious pace for two blocks until she made her bus stop. She was the only person standing by the sign, while down the road eighty yards, about thirty people were in a sheltered plexiglass bus stop. Mary found the highest point on the sidewalk to avoid the puddles. Her legs straddled two feet. the rain began to come down harder. An empty bus came down Independence Ave, but it was a white bus and Mary knew that it would only pick up at the sheltered bus stop. As the driver approached Mary, he seemed to slow down. The mustachioed bus driver stared at Mary, his eyes widened as he got closer. Instead of turning away, Mary became incensed and began to glare at him. The last possible instant she saw him, his mouth hanging open and a dumbfounded look on his face. Mary watched as the bus picked up all the people, who started to turn their heads at the lone person at the bus stop. Each one of them now was staring at Mary. Mary could see eyes until the bus was out of view. During this time, Mary's anger turned into bewilderment. Why are they staring at me? page 5 Eat the Cookie Jim Lowenstern isbn 979-8-88925-263-4 A few seconds later came a bus twenty years older, with a peeling black paint job. It creaked and squeaked as it pulled up to pick her up. Mary boarded. she saw a ruddy complexioned Irishman, his hair was dull read. He sprouted a few days growth. He kept looking at Mary's clothes. When Mary passed him, she heard him mutter, "Gucci." Mary looked down at her shoes as she took a seat in the middle of the empty bus. Mary stared out of her window at an elderly gentleman in a tweed suit, smoking a pipe. He waved to her. Mary smiled, it was nice for such an attractive man to wave to her. The bus turned off Independence Ave and hit Lancaster St, a more modern part of town. Mary reacquainted herself with all the buildings. The bus stopped at the orthodox influenced Mantequilla building with its famous dome and arches and vaults. The bus became fuller after the next stop. Two young working women took the seat in front of Mary. They glanced at her as she stared out the window, one girl broke into Mary's world. "Haven't I seen you before?" Mary whirled her head at the assailant. "Aren't You....? "No," Mary snorted at the red-haired woman. The red-haired woman's face flushed. she regained her composure then, as she smacked her lips, winked to her friend, and gave a tight smile. As Mary was turning her head away. "Charlie is going to Gooseland to shoot some deer this weekend." "Ann, why isn't he going to Kandati?" "It's too far away. Besides, he can safely stay at his parents. He can't get in any trouble hitchhiking. Look, it's the perfect alibi. Not only that, Toni, I hear out there the road problem isn't bad as it is here. It so bad he couldn't drive a car and bring some food back." "Ann, you know Chuck lost his car when the car tax came, the same as Ronny did, the same as everyone Chuck and I know." Page 6 " Don't you anyone? I mean Gooseland that is an opportunity for so many people to be helped out." "We tried to ask around for a car two months ago. I don't know. It's not like you can call over the telephone. Ann, I told a lot of people, but nothing has ever come through." "How much do you think he will bring back?" "Just some deer in the lining, sewn up and wrapped in foil and deodorized with a dash of white pepper, so the dogs won't smell." "Won't he bring some vegetables back? That is a trip to Gooseland wasted. Why doesn't Charles bring a bag of tomatoes and Corn back?" "Ann, they check people hitchhiking." "Not everyone." "They still do. You can't smuggle food. Charles isn't jail." " Toni, sometimes you gotta take risks. How are Danny and Patty going to stay healthy?" "They get plenty of vitamins and supplements, Ann, I am tired of talking about food. Anyway, at least we are lucky we live in Lawrence Province." "Why ? You mean the water?" "Yes, let's see, Kingston got poisoned last Thursday. Mosquito diss..." "Malaria." "Yes, Newton has a mutant disease, what is it Ann?" "It hits the lungs first and i don't think it is mutant. It's asthma poisoning, that's all...." "Proctorville has the common cold, probably Uncle Sully called last night, He sure its the water. Why hasn't the government done anything about it." "They did at two o'clock today. the epidemic hasn't yet reached Elizabethtown, I wonder why they did it." The bus stopped and the two younger women got off. Mary always listened to conversations on buses. She never got in any herself. You could see so much about other people, listening to their Page 14 staring at the ceiling. Blianto was having trouble breathing, his arguing was so fierce. Then in came Albo, the old bald general, and Moagle, another sawhorse from the Of and Chancor wars. With the exception of Blianto, the room was silent. Albo took one glance at Blianto and turned and glared at Dashiki. I broke the disturbing silence, "Tanganyikan music has a zulu influence, but obviously Lantu and Diatu are the forefathers to Tanganyikan Jazz and Dorcab String music." "Cut the bullshit," Daviary bellowed. Blianto's head nodded in agreement,"See I am right." "You ass shut up."Daviary directed to Blianto and Nabutu,"You, Mr Bludini, all of us came all the way here to talk music." "Tambor Folk music has nothing to do with Tanganyikan Jazz," I interjected. "Let's leave now," Albo said, "we are obviously wasting our time." "Patience Albo, what I and others are about to tell you is very important. So, I hope all of you in this room can hold a reasonable discussion. First of all, this will come to a shock to all of you, Ralph Armstrong is dead. Mr Nabutu, neither one of your aides has the backbone to rule this country. You, my friend, do. As you know nobody was designated to takeover if Ralph Armstrong died. I will explain why I want you to be the leader. Mr Albo and Mr Dashiki were informed of my decision to ask you..though they do not agree totally. I will explain to you three for the first time and my army friends for the second time. I am second-in-command of the people's army. Now first-in-command. I guess that I could take the job of prime minister. Seriously, I don't have knowledge of economics or governmental organization. Ralph Armstrong unfortunately didn't have a tremendous amount of knowledge on these subjects either. But he didn't need to either. He had leadership, charisma, personality, and everyone liked him. He was smart enough to pick his friends and advisors. Mr Nabutu you were the main i s Eat the Cookie by me Here is what Dorrance or Rose Dog Books put on the back cover Eat The Cookies is the story of a nation that has undergone change, featuring people from the past and present with various views Jim Lowenstern started Eat the Cookie in about 1976. He stayed true to the original spirit of the story, although slightly altered as time has passed. Lowenstern was employed by health food stores and was a sales rep for a vitamin line during this time, before now. Here is what i emailed a few people i will try to tell you about the story, it as about a former prime minister ( of a nation such as South Africa ) her son and his lover , it has family ( patterned after US working class ) Has a black prime minister of nation , his wife, a scene making fun of a China , US leadership, some sex and fecal jokes Your eye for political satire is well developed, first I want to tell you I think you are a very skilled and talented writer. I found your prose easy to read and understand, interesting, and very plausible (although your story is anything BUT mundane). You have a strong voice, and share it with your characters. The characters were accessible and as complex as they could be in a short story. praise from one person My favorite scene was the fortune cookie scene – You have such a creative mind- it seemed like many different story paths were happening at once – For sure I could hear your “voice” in there in some of the dialogue – and I love when I can recognize that in a story someone has written. Comments from someone else if you need or want anything from me . Please contact me and feel free to help me Jim Lowenstern 703 820 0168

jim r lowenstern July 18, 2023 10:26

i self published a book with dorrance and can't get anyone to read or review it , below is an email giving info on book i self published a book , really a short story, parts of it are weird, 2 ways to buy it and You make the decision if you want to more info below book on our RoseDog bookstore recently. Dorrance paperback: https://rosedogbookstore.com/eat-the-cookie/ Dorrance eBook: https://rosedogbookstore.com/eat-the-cookie-ebook/ Eat the Cookie by me Here is what Dorrance or Rose Dog Books put on the back cover Eat The Cookies is the story of a nation that has undergone change, featuring people from the past and present with various views Jim Lowenstern started Eat the Cookie in about 1976. He stayed true to the original spirit of the story, although slightly altered as time has passed. Lowenstern was employed by health food stores and was a sales rep for a vitamin line during this time, before now. Here is what i emailed a few people i will try to tell you about the story, it as about a former prime minister ( of a nation such as South Africa ) her son and his lover , it has family ( patterned after US working class ) Has a black prime minister of nation , his wife, a scene making fun of a China , US leadership, some sex and fecal jokes if you need or want anything from me . Please contact me and feel free to help me Jim Lowenstern 703 820 0168 Thanks Jim