Who You Gonna Call?

18. Certainly not Ghost busters. But maybe if the right conditions are present, you can call MissHPLuvr and the 3 Cat-chers. Let me explain. Last night about 11:25 pm my Mom yells down the stairs for me to bring Ronald up. Ut-oh not again. But no, Ronald should not have been up to no good, as he was quietly snoozing snuggled up next to me. So after inquiring 'Why' Ronald was being requested, I found out that Uncle Snickets (a chicken in cat's clothing) had brought in a furry little Mickey when he was let into the house. My Mom, being the brave soul that she is, brought all three of the house cats into the master bedroom, and proceeded to be squeamish all around the bedroom. I had yet to see the Mickey, but believed him to be there, as all of Uncle Snickets attention was turned onto one side of the dresser. Ronald was sure something was up, and soon was not disappointed as the little devil scooted out from under the dresser and squiggled behind the bathroom door. Not to be outdone, Ronald followed the little guy around the door and chased him back out under the dresser. For being fast enough to catch the bugger outside, Uncle Snickets sure was letting him have the run of the house. It was a while before the mouse squished himself under the bedroom door and across the hallway to Teagan's room. This was all the motivation I needed- I was going to have to step up my skillz or be forced to chase ineffective cats following a free moving mouse around the house all night long. That or else be forced to lose the mouse, not knowing where he was, and then try to go back to bed with thoughts of a wild mouse running around all night long.

Anyway, after a couple of laps around the baby's room...and a few climbs up the crib and toddler bed legs, Ronald was nearly always one step behind and batting the poor thing around. You know, only enough to terrorize him, not do away with him. But he was a tenacious mouser. My Mom -a chicken in Mom's clothing when concerned with anything smaller than her cougar cat- was advancing on the mouse's position, until she actual saw it wiggle it's whiskers at her and she would scream and dance around, blocking all possibilities of capture...it was then decided that I would have to bring in my highly professional capture equipment.

How else was this escapade ever going to end?

It suffices me to say, that 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 hallway, 2 orange cats, 1 broom, 1 robe, 2 towels, and 1 MissHPLuvr later... we had ourselves a trapped little mouse. But- I only capture. The mouse had to wait until Dad got home before any sort of removal happened.

Afterwards Ronald roamed the house like a cat that got the cream...or mouse.

19. Two years ago Brandon Mull visited Santaquin Elementary and talked to the kids about how writing and being an author is a way to turn your imagination into a "reality". I remember sitting there listening to this guy make the entire audience erupt into giggles and uncontrollable laughter. I was thinking to myself how familiar he looks, when it dawned on me. "Hey, he used to be in Diving Comedy, on BYU campus my freshman year!" So that day after school I looked him up and lo and behold- Gandolf the Great -in the flesh. As if I wasn't already into the Fablehaven series he had begun from reading it aloud to my 4th graders. I appreciated the humor he had infused into the story he had written. I would recommend this story to many who completed the Harry Potter series and wondered to themselves...what next? There are four books out, with the fifth and final installment of the series due out in March 2010. My Mom came across this news article and passed it along to me, knowing of my interest in his works.

Utah Author Grants Wish For Dying Boy
Thursday, Dec 10, 2009 @11:11pm CST

Brandon Mull has never met 14 year-old Chase Autrey, but on Thursday night he granted his dying wish – even though Mull lives in Utah, Chase lives in Texas and the two have never met.

Brandon Mull is the author of a popular book series for teens called “Fablehaven”. Chase is a boy who is dying from Cystic Fibrosis. Mull’s 5 book in a series is due out in March. Chase is a huge fan of the book and according to his mother Olive, has been waiting anxiously for the release of the new book. But March will likely be too late for Chase whose lungs have all but failed.

On Thursday, Mull surprised Chase with a phone call to his hospital room. It was made possible by a group called “A Wish With Wings” which grants wishes to terminally ill children. When Chase answered the phone call in his room, surrounded by family he said, “Holy Crap!” Then Mull proceeded to do something for Chase that he would never do for any other fan: He told him the top secret plot to the fifth book. “If I tell you this, you have to promise me to keep this secret….it’s between us,” said Mull to Chase via phone from his house in Utah County. Chase promised and Mull proceeded to tell the plot in detail. For a few moments Chase escaped the harsh realities of his life in the hospital.

“It was great to see him be the focus of attention in a good way,” said Chase’s father Patrick. “He’s endured things others have never endured.” Chase has been in hospice for a year and a half. His mother said he gets headaches often and is in a lot of pain. “His body is breaking down,” she said.

Mull became teary-eyed toward the end of the phone conversation when Chase’s family yelled out “thank you” over the phone. The 35 year-old father of three said he couldn’t imagine what it would be like to have a child in the hospital with a terminal illness. “The idea that my books could help distract him is way cooler than anything,” said Mull holding back tears. “It is way beyond anything I hoped my writing would do.”

And to him I say- 'Thank you Brandon Mull for sharing your talents with others.'