Readers choice, the favorite readers stories from Diane Cameron.

1. DIANE CAMERON’S COLLECTION OF POETRY & SHORT STORIES #1
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MY FIRST BEST FRIEND
BY DIANE CAMERON
© Eddie Bear Publishing
My Spirit smiled at the thought of you today
I was remembering something you said many years ago
We were in the park sipping cold tea
Planning our day and our future
Life was just beginning for us
We were best friends
We collected rocks and
Pretended they were diamonds
We made a pact
And promised to always remain close
You moved away five years and two kids later
The calls and cards arrived less and less
Different paths and different places
Your face became a memory

2. Still I never forgot your heart
Life is full of challenges
You made other friends
You gave them advice
They listened
And promised to oblige
I can still feel the pain of hearing the news of your mom
After all…she was like a mother to me
It was on the front page
The news of her accident
Life wasn’t always easy for her
But she was your mom
I can still taste her good cooking
Life never took away her smile
The whole neighborhood were her children
She gave us all advice
We listened and felt better
You told me you were going to “become a star”
I kept up with your career through the years
The first black female to do this and that..wow!
Sometimes though the tabloids
weren’t so kind…
Reporting your divorces and such
But you seemed so strong
I never forgot your determination
Life never stripped you of your song
All your classmates admired your beauty
We never cared about the media gossip
We read it
But we didn’t care
And I stopped reading them period!
I was standing in the kitchen
Reading to my grandchildren
When the reporter announced your name
She said a singer died today
Just like that…and yet..
The news stung my ears like a bullet
Tears covered my face and I instantly regretted
All the calls I never made
At least the newspapers said you were
An International Singer
The radio echoed the same accolade
Damn that lady reporter…no respect
My mind took me back to those times in the park
Where we planned our days and our future
I remembered your beauty and fearlessness
For you…the rocks did turn into diamonds
I promise…I will always cherish
The memory of my first best friend

3. RACHEL’S SILENCE
BY DIANE CAMERON
© Eddie Bear Publishing
quot;A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children;
she wouldn't be comforted, because they are no more.quot; (Matthew 2:18)
Rachel...........arise
Can you not feel the pain?
Africa Cries...
And we are to blame
from oceans to villages
the needs are the same
your cries are now quiet
and silence remains.
In the harshest of days
of times gone by
we spoke to the rivers……
And dared them to dry
We sang to the fields
Commanded the fire
To cook in the daylight
And warmth in the night
Dazed in our slumber
Drunk in our rest
Abandon consumes us
Complacent at best
Other birds are feeding
The eggs in our nest
Sarah’s children are nursing
From Hagar’s breast…..
Wake up Diaspora….
Heed eyes and ears
to the cries of our people
to the sound of their tears
lest unto Africa
the message we send
is we're now the stranger
and the strangers’…the friend….
Diaspora…..….arise
Are you not concerned?
Africa’s' calling
our backs we have turned
Dazed in our slumber
Drunk in our rest
Sarah’s children are nursing
From Hagar’s breast…..
Our children are nursing
.....Not from our breast…..

4. THANK YOU (ODE TO A FORMER ROMANCE)
BY DIANE CAMERON
© Eddie Bear Publishing
I Am Going Where Opportunities Await
You paved the way - you opened the gate
You showed me how to rise and run
You taught me how to chase the sun
Thank you for every mile driven
Thank you for every cent given
Thank you for your patience tried
Thank you for a wonderful ride
I wasn't easy to understand
You showed me how to trust your hand
I know at times you wished to stop
But persevered against those thoughts
Thank you for every mile driven
Thank you for every cent given
Though bittersweet are loves goodbyes
You patched my wings now I can fly
MAN ON A TRAIN
BY DIANE CAMERON
© Eddie Bear Publishing
I saw you sitting on the subway train
or you caught my eye
you gently smiled and I looked away
But you stayed on my mind
did you go to the arms of a lover?
Did you go to the house of a friend?
Did you go to another city
Will I ever see you again?
They called your stop and you stood to leave
I felt you staring my way
A wave of shyness came over me
and you went on with your day
did you go to the arms of a lover?
Did you go to the house of a friend?
Did you go to another city
Will I ever see you again?
Where did you go?
Where could you be
Where are you now?
Have you thought about me?
Companion song “Man on a train” can be heard at www.myspace.com/dianecameron

5. THE RED SCARF
BY DIANE CAMERON
© Eddie Bear Publishing
It was the night of the holiday party.... A little more champagne than he usually drank and
closer to midnight than he was accustomed to being up. Just a hair over excess depending
on who you were to ask. He was in the majority and would have easily been forgiven by a
jury of his peers. Midnight came, a toast, a prayer, a promise and a swear.... all would soon
be forgotten. All but that red chiffon scarf. For it wrapped around one of the most gorgeous
creatures he had ever laid eyes on.
Being quite handsome himself, he tried to appear as if he wasn't really noticing her....it was
to no avail. He worked the room stopping to make small talk here and there and like
magnetism... his eyes couldn't stop watching this mysterious African princess. Even though
she seemed to not be aware of his presence that did not deter him from continuing his
stare. She moved like a gazelle and her beauty rivaled the actress Marpessa Dawn in the
movie Black Orpheus. The red scarf draped over her feminine perfection protectively and for
the first time in his life he found himself jealous of a scarf. It was tied to perfection and
made of fabric that shouted femininity. Must have been manufactured in Heaven...surely no
earthly fabric would qualify.
Midnight came, the click...click... click of glasses toasting reminded him of how late it was.
He went to the coat closet to retrieve his wrap. As he was leaving, he looked around again
for the Nubian angel and she was gone. He thanked the party host and headed for his car.
After letting the engine warm for a minute he sped off for home. Reaching into his pocket
for his driving gloves he discovered......... the red scarf...there is a God....he thought...and
she was one of his angels. A card wrapped inside the scarf contained a phone number and
message. It read:
Your Secret Admirer - Call me tomorrow....
Ruby.........He smiled all the way home
THE GOOD OLD DAZE
BY DIANE CAMERON
© Eddie Bear Publishing
Every generation blames the one beforequot; or so declares songwriter Mike Rutherford in his
80's hit quot;The Living Yearsquot;. All it takes is just five minutes alone with one of our dear folks
of the senior persuasion, and we are introduced to a laundry list of what is wrong with the
current generation as compared to how is used to be in the quot;good old daysquot;. This
fascination with nostalgia is evident in just about every industry. Examples; vintage
clothing, classic cars, golden oldies, retro furnishings...and so on. Times gone by are spoken
of and about with such a reverence equaled to Dorothy’s yearning to go back to Kansas
after discovering Oz were only an illusion.
We spend our first 12 years of life anxiously waiting to be a quot;teenagerquot;, only to discover we
are still too young to participate in quite a few offerings of life. Marching on, we
passionately desire to be 18...thinking Ah Ha! finally I have reached that magic age.....and

6. NOW I can live on our own as an adult far away from the advice,... unsolicited and
unappreciated of well meaning adults.....only to discover it wasn't nirvana either. Suddenly,
after capping 39...we start hiding years and decades later we find ourselves
reminiscent....wishing for ourquot;goodquot; old daysquot;.
Well...........When did these days arrive? We should be grateful for every moment we are
allowed to breathe God's air? I remember the anticipation that hung over me when I was
15 waiting to be sixteen. 16 was the age mandated by my parents where I would be old
enough to date. I spent the entire 16th year of my life waiting for some popular football
star or at worst a shy bookworm nerd to ask me out.......the invitation never came till I was
17. quot;What a waste of a yearquot;, I thought...
If we are not careful our quot;good old daysquot; can actually be the quot;good old dazequot; where we live
out life in a blur of unrealistic anticipations and regrets, rushing through our life journey,
bemoaning the lifestyle, music and dress choices of the current younger generation with
unfair comparisons.
Right now where you are no matter your age or circumstance....Every day you are
alive.....you are creating and living your future quot;Good Old Daysquot;. Make 'em worth talking
about in preparation for when the time comes for your story to be told.
BARBARA & GLADYS & MARGARET – OH MY!!
BY DIANE CAMERON
© Eddie Bear Publishing
The other day I received a letter. Now some of you may be saying…ok…Go on… but I had to
stop for a moment and ponder on the impact this letter had on me. After all I am still a little
shaken up. It was totally unrequested, definitely unappreciated and by my own
standards….unwarranted. It was a letter from AARP. Pulling the envelope from my mailbox
I looked at the mail in horror! “How did they get my name” I screamed. “Is this some cruel
joke? I sang in the church choir for three months…how could this happen to me?” This was
clearly a case of identity theft. I visualized a toothless grey haired troll, the hater of all
things young peering thru a dusty box of birth certificates, rubbing knotted hands together
looking at its watch” exclaiming “AHA! another one bites the dust. She’s finally made it”
sealing the envelope, dropping it in the mail bin and going for the next victim.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am aging gracefully, or am I? Now I was hesitant about taking
the memento from the table of my last class reunion. Do you blame me? I was not about to
carry around a bag declaring the date of my entrance and graduation from High School. And
the gifts inside? Ha! Some “gifts”…. A coupon for Depends, a free trial size of Polident and a
pair of tweezers guaranteed to eliminate nose hair without pain. The class colors were
resplendently displayed on each table with the only drawback being the placemats on each
dinner table contained instructions for the Heimlich Method. Finally, the “In Memoriam”
moment of silence came with the committee naming each classmate who had gone on. This
lasted for nearly 35 minutes (567 to now 94) I repented and reevaluated that tote bag and
decided to take it with me anyway, after all, I could still carry it inside out where the dates
weren’t so visible.

7. It’s very subtle, this aging thing and it affects your total being. Take the internet. I get
several emails a day and have for a few years. Lately, I have received the same one from at
least 10 different sources detailing the warning signs of a stroke or heart attack. Now I am
not so callous and unappreciative of these notices from well meaning friends but is there
anyone out there in cyber land who can send an email announcing the new arrivals at
Victoria’s Secret? Am I approaching that age where the only man who will look at me is the
doctor? If this is so make it quick and painless and when I get to the Pearly Gates. I’ll let
them know it was by request and not to hold you responsible for the act.
I guess the most blaring sign of “climbing the hill” is there are no twenty-something’s or
even thirty-something’s with your same name. Can someone tell me when was the last time
you read the birth announcements and discovered little Barbara or Gladys or Margaret was
just born? Come on…it has to be someone out there who appreciates a classic name. All the
names of young women today conjure up images of vamps and Lolita’s. Even if you are
ecstatic over the divorce ladies, it is a little disarming learning your ex-husband of 35 years
has a new bride named Shenika. Or your husband’s faithful secretary Madge finally
retires….only to be replaced by Caitlin.
Weren’t there any Louise’s who were available for marriage? Aren’t there any Gertrude’s
who can type?
Enough of my whining…already. I need to go so I can write my thank you notes for all the
lovely birthday presents I received. What a bevy of wonderful gifts they were. A free year’s
subscription to Panic Alert, a service where I push a button that will send help to anywhere
I am in case I fall and can’t get up. A pair of gardening gloves complete with matching
straw hat, an 18 hour bra (I guess that is about how long it can work against gravity….after
18 hours it turns into an apron). Finally a free pass courtesy of my best friends, Barbara,
Gladys and Margaret for the next Chippendales show. All ladies showing their AARP cards
get a free autographed picture. So at midnight, wearing dark glasses and straw hat with no
one looking, I took the application from my reunion tote bag, secretly dropped it in the
mailbox and quickly returned home.
Copyright © Eddie Bear Publishing 2003-2009. All rights reserved.
This story may not be reproduced or redistributed without written permission from the author Diane
Cameron usaartistobenin@aol.com
Eddie Bear Publishing © rights reserved.