Advanced ESL / Reading Comprehension – Things That Touched My Life

How to Avoid a Catfight

September 22, 2024September 22, 2024
by nancyfhjohnson

Some unknown thing bit him near the base of his tail, when he was out in our yard. It was impossible to see immediately, because of the location and his beautiful fur coat. But I could tell that he was in pain and needed a visit to the vet.

After treatment at the office, we came home with some new, but temporary, responsibilities. These included three days’ worth of pills that he did not want to take. Coax as we might, he would not change his mind. Feeling a little desperate, I got down on the floor with him. (That’s a no-no with my arthritis.) As I picked him up, I got off balance and must have squeezed a little bit, right where he hurt the most.

Joe, a usually mild-mannered cat, let out a blood-curdling scream and after that, a warning growl from behind the couch where he had fled to safety.

We did get him to take his pill a while later – hidden in a chunk of tuna fish. But he needed some cool-down time first before he was ready.

Joe had not understood what I was doing. He needed some breathing space. He needed me to ‘cut him some slack.’

I wonder…do I do that with people? Do I ‘cut them some slack’ when I do something they didn’t understand or vice versa? It’s a good question. It’s also a good way to avoid something that could end up like a catfight.

Advanced ESL / Reading Comprehension

Like It Really Was

July 21, 2024
by nancyfhjohnson

She was walking fast, and I pressed along behind her trying to keep up. Why had I never noticed how strong and graceful she was?

Up the rugged, clay path we went, ever aiming for the mountain-top! She was perfectly at ease (even with the pail of scraps perched on her head). I, on the other hand, was already breathing hard! Our reasons for going were different – but we understood each other – as women and as friends.

How had this come about? A few days before, when I had mentioned that I was trying to lose weight, I had received a spontaneous invitation. “I walk up the mountain every day to feed my animals at our old family place… Come with me! I guarantee you’ll get good exercise.” So, this was the first of many times that Ernestine and I walked up that mountain.

We started just before dawn and the sky grew light as we walked. The uphill climb was arduous but something special, that could be had in no other way, awaited us. “Come in,” she invited at the door of the mud hut. I’ll make you some tea. It will take the chill off this early morning, mountain air.

A fire was lit in a simple fireplace in the kitchen. Half of a large, hollowed-out gourd served as a pan and peppermint leaves were boiling, letting off their spicy aroma. “I’ll go out and get an egg from the chickens if you want one,” she said.

Comfort and peace abounded in this little-known place. Ernestine had given me a wonderful gift – the gift of including me in her life just as it was….

Advanced ESL / Reading Comprehension

The Wedding Gown

June 23, 2024
by nancyfhjohnson

He told us he wanted to ask and I knew she would say “yes!”

I wanted her to have the most beautiful wedding gown but how would that be possible? Brazil, where we had lived for most of the last twenty years, had rentals available. Fancy! Gorgeous! You could use any superlative to describe what was available at a reasonable cost.

But I was now unfamiliar with wedding fineries in the USA. How could I buy something that would make her dreams come true?

A couple of weeks later, on a trip out of state, I sat in the car waiting for my husband who was browsing a car-parts shop. The little strip mall on the side suddenly caught my attention. There, on display in the window of an upscale thrift shop, was a beautiful wedding gown. Could it be that I was meant to see it? I had to take a closer look so, locking the car, I headed across the parking lot.

“Yes,” the saleslady would take it down so I could photograph it from every angle. It was even more beautiful up close! But I could not pick out a wedding gown for my daughter! To be honest, we rarely had the same taste in clothes – let alone a wedding gown!

But you know what? I didn’t pick out that dress and neither did she! That dress was just meant to be! You guessed it! She loved the pictures! The gown arrived in the mail a few days later! And she looked every bit as beautiful as I always knew she would!

Category: <span>Advanced ESL / Reading Comprehension</span>

How to Avoid a Catfight

Like It Really Was

The Wedding Gown