Staring at his phone, Perry scrolled through his social media feed. He wanted to return to the condo and sit in the air conditioning. Maybe take some pictures of the ocean from the balcony to post on Instagram.

“Why don’t you get into the water, Perry,” his mother said, sitting beside him under the umbrella. She had been pestering him to get into the ocean since they arrived three days earlier. “We’re leaving in a couple of days.”

Perry scooted back into his seat and cleared his throat. He switched from Instagram to Facebook. “Not now, Mom.”

“Put that phone down, and take in all this beauty.”

Perry’s neck popped when he raised his head. Perry’s father sat in a chair near the shore so saltwater would wash over his feet as he read a paperback novel. Couples walked along the shoreline, and families huddled under umbrellas and on beach towels.

“It’s too bright and hot, mom. On top of that, I’m sweating, and all my pics are blurry. Can we go inside?” He stared back at his phone.

“We just got out here, sweetie.”

“I wanna leave.”

Perry’s mom leaned closer. “Take a break from that phone, son.”

“In just a minute,” he said.

His mother cleared her throat and said, “Oh my, here comes that seagull I told you about. I brought some fish today.” She opened the cooler next to her chair and retrieved a small bowl filled with goldfish. “Wanna feed it with me?”

“It’s not the same bird, mom, and we shouldn’t feed ’em. They steal dogs and stuff.”

“Not Lawdles,” she said. “He’s a special bird. Even listens better than you and your father.”

“You named it Lawdles?” Perry said.

In the periphery of his vision, he saw his mom drop a goldfish into the bird’s open beak.

“Come on, Perry,” she said. “Feed ’im. Please.”

Perry checked his Twitter notifications. “You shouldn’t feed it, mom.”

“Lawdles is looking at you, dear.”

Perry squinted over his phone into the searing, bright sands, and sure enough, the seagull stared back, shifting its head like a lost puppy. It seemed to frown while its dotty eyes looked as if they were glued to either side of its small head. 

“Dumb bird.”

He returned to his phone.

“That’s not nice, Perry. You should feed him,” his mother said.

“No. Fish are slimy, and birds are gross. So leave me—agh!”

Lawdles had swooped in. Perry swatted with bent arms flailing. His phone slipped from his hand, drifted skyward, and dropped on the sand. Lawdles, the evil, dog-thieving fiend, landed beside it.

“Last chance, Perry,” his mother said. “Better toss him a fish.”

“Lawdles, d-don’t take m-my phone. Please?”

Lawdles bent down and took his phone into its beak.

“No Lawdles,” Perry said firmly. “Bad bird.”

Lawdles ran down the beach with Perry’s phone, flapping its wings. Perry stumbled from his seat and plopped onto the sand. He didn’t feel the heat as he focused on the thief and started running, kicking sand up behind him.

The bird took flight. Gazing up, Perry tripped over a sandcastle and tumbled.

“Hey,” a little girl in a one-piece said. “You ruined my castle.”

Everyone was looking at Perry. He announced, “I’ll give fifty bucks to whoever gets my phone from that bird.”

“Fifty dollars!” the little girl exclaimed.

Perry, the little girl, her father, and several others chased after the bird. Lawdles turned and started flying back the way he came. Bodies collided and fell, but Perry stayed afoot and continued running after his phone. His sprint diminished to a jog and then a stagger. 

The bird came to rest on his mother’s shoulder. She offered it a tiny goldfish, and his cellphone fell into her lap.

“My phone,” Perry said between breaths. “Can I have it back?”

“Ocean, first,” his mother said. “He stole my phone two days ago. Feed him or he might steal it again.

She offered the bowl of fish. Perry sat and took it. He scooped out a small fish and held it out for Lawdles.

Lawdles came over and opened its beak. Perry dropped it in.

“Excuse me, ma’am.” The little girl had followed Perry. “Is that his phone?”

“Yes.”

She pointed at Perry. “You owe her fifty dollars.” She walked away.

“Surprised it hasn’t stolen dad’s book.”

Lawdles turned to Perry’s dad who faced the ocean reading. It walked softly and slowly—head bobbing.”

“Um, dad,” Perry said. “Dad,  feed the bird.”

“Just a minute.” His dad lifted an index finger to the sky.

Lawdles creeped closer.

“Agh!”

Bryan Timothy Mitchell is married to Sarah they have two boys, James and Eli. The stories he writes usually have speculative elements. Some of them are free on his website, www.bryantimothymitchell.com. His hope is to publish his first novel soon and write more.

Those of you with higher education know how complicated the English language appears to the world. According to the New College Group.com website, “It has been called one of the most difficult languages to learn. Both for learners and native speakers alike--largely due to its unpredictable spelling and tricky to master grammar.” I’m not included in the higher education conundrum, but I do have some college credits. I Clepped English, and they awarded me English 101 and Composition.

My earliest memory of English class occurred in my freshman year of high school. I’m also old enough to remember where I sat when JFK received a bullet. Anyway, Mrs. Merritt explained the definition of a preposition, and no, I don’t know what she said. So, here’s a take from Wikipedia, the experts of the day in everything.

“Prepositions and postpositions, together called adpositions (or broadly, in English, simply prepositions),[1] are a class of words used to express spatial or temporal relations (in, under, towards, before) or mark various semantic roles (of, for).[2]” Wikipedia

Postpositions? Who knew.

I thought this definition to be a bit beyond me, so I looked again.

“Simple definition:

A preposition is a word or group of words used before a noun, pronoun, or noun phrase to show direction, time, place, location, spatial relationships, or to introduce an object. ... Prepositions in English are highly idiomatic.” https://academicguides.waldenu.edu › ...

You writers know all this stuff. For me, much of it is a struggle, so I drop back to my class story.

After her presentation, Mrs. Merritt asked if anyone could define the term preposition. Many of you know I have hearing loss. I missed what Brenda said. I think Mrs. Merritt heard it but didn’t believe what she heard. “What did you say, Brenda?”

“A preposition is anywhere a mouse can go. You know, like over, under, around, through, to.”

So, there you have it, friends. The best lesson ever in how to identify a preposition. 

Warren A Johnson wrote several articles for publications, including The Networker, JEMS, and American Motorcyclist. Ezines Suite T and Splickety published short articles. Find his devotions at ChristianDevotions.us. He also authors essays on American history from the Christian worldview. A self-published novel is under rewrite and part of a series, “The Pheromone Chronicles.”

Warren lives in NW South Carolina with his wife, Barbara, and speaks about America in Haversack History presentations. Find his blog posts at www.warrenajohnson.blogspot.com, where you can also find information on Haversack History. Contact: [email protected] 

Clover's morning among the wildflowers is so fun that kids won't know they're learning science.

Clover lives in a house on stilts in a meadow of wildflowers. For today’s assignment, she romps through three habitats with her biologist dad to discover surprising characteristics of ten wildflowers and record them in her nature notebook. A wonderful warbler tags along and tweets a tune that kids will enjoy repeating.

Clover’s Wildflower Field Trip is filled with scientific facts and vocabulary words that support STEM standards for kindergarten through second grade. This creative book complements units of study about living things, plants, and natural habitats. An interactive page, “Clover’s Outdoor Classroom,” offers learning reinforcement after the story.

Written by a biologist, a second-grade teacher, and a children’s author, this delightful book inspires kids to notice the remarkable nature around them.

Becky Alexander is a member of Word Weavers North Alabama. She and her two siblings released Clover’s Wildflower Field Trip in April as part of The Biology Bucket Series. Now, she’s working on Clover and Critters in the Creek. Becky contributed to three Guideposts books and one Chicken Soup for the Soul book this year. And after eighteen months of being grounded due to the pandemic, she’s back on the road as a tour director this fall, leading groups across the U.S. and Canada.

To order Clover’s Wildflower Field Trip for the children in your life, go to: www.happychairbooks.com