Stan the Man

This story is for an assignment that FoN over at Kids and Daiquiris threw out there. (Doesn’t the rhyming remind you of a Sesame Street sketch with a man in a van?) Go check it out, and add another story to the mix!

The dance rehearsal was interrupted mid-Tango when a crazed delivery man in tan carrying an awkward bundle burst out of the rear room. He raced toward the door, followed by a middle-aged woman with a tape-measure strung around her neck like an anorexic, robin-egg blue cashmere scarf. “Tob! Tob!” she yelled. Her lips were pressed together, holding straight pins. They dangled from her mouth just as an old-fashioned detective would have dangled a half-smoked cigarette from the corner of his mouth while gabbing on the phone, feet propped up on the desk.

I instantly sprang into action, shouting, “Call the police!” as I two-stepped it out the door. Out on the street I looked left, then right, and spotted the man in tan slamming the door on a double-parked delivery van. The chase was on. I leaped onto the rear bumper and grabbed the door handles. As the truck veered into traffic, I swung myself up to the roof, limber as a cat. “Being a dancer has unexpected advantages,” I thought, and I flattened myself against the warm metal. The truck lumbered along, the driver unaware of its debonair stowaway. I inched my way forward, up to the cab. I swung my feet into the open passenger window and gracefully descended into the seat. I found myself face-to-face with the startled thief. “Wanna rumba?” I growled as I forced him off the road and up an embankment. A squad car pulled up, lights flashing, and officers pulled the man in tan from the van to question him.

A reporter arrived soon after, and I flashed her a smile as I revealed my prize–the costume designer’s coveted sewing machine. Why the man in tan wanted it, I could not say. “And you are?” the reporter asked.

“I’m Stan.” I replied.

Book Nook: A Cuppa

Molly, my sister, and I fell out,
And what do you think it was all about?
She loved coffee and I loved tea,
And that was the reason we couldn’t agree.

Traditional nursery rhyme

One of my sisters loves coffee; the other prefers Coke. Myself? I love my java in the morning. But the afternoon is right for tea. February afternoons, with the southern sun slanting in through the windows with the promise of spring, is the perfect time for tea. I love curling my chilly fingers around a warm mug. Reading novels written by British authors always seem to make me want a nice, steaming cuppa tea. Our neighbor always offers to make us tea after we eat dinner together. Go ahead; put the kettle on!

When I was pregnant with Emmy, I was concerned about the effects of herbal teas. Some herbs can cause contractions, and I wanted to avoid anything that might have been harmful to Roo (our name for Emmy before she was born.) I went to a tea shop in the mall close to us, and asked for advice. The woman there started looking through her tea book for a safe herbal tea, and together we found rooibos, a tea that comes from Africa. It is also called red tea, or bush tea. Perfect! Every time I drink this tea, I’m reminded of Mma Ramotswe, the detective in one of my favorite mystery series.

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Book 1) The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Mma Ramotswe adored her late father. Mma Ramotswe knows cattle. Mma Ramotswe is of traditional build. Mma Ramotswe drinks bush tea. Mma Ramotswe solves mysteries brought to her detective agency in a way that coheres with her sensibilities. I fell in love with Mma Ramotswe, her prickly secretary, Mma Makutsi, and her good-hearted friend, Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni. Alexander McCall Smith brings Botswana to life, making this a warm read on a cold winter afternoon.