- Article Archive
- Cases
- ...And he cried on my shoulder
- Hospice care and EFT
- How do I know the right words to say when I'm tapping?
- A builder with psoriasis & little things
- EFT clears eczema.
- Loneliness and many, many aspects
- An uncontrollably sobbing client--"my mother didn't love me"
- "Bedside EFT" for patient relief in a hospital setting
- Expensive Emotions
- Niki LaMont on depression, pain and a water phobia
- Guilt over terminating a marriage
- Calming down a suicidal client
- The freedom to sing
- When a prisoner won't disclose the issue
- When pets have to pee...
- Critical Incident Stress Debriefing
- Insight--"I'm terrified I'm going to be like my father"
- Sales performance
- Alan--a mentally retarded client
- EFT "homework" and other messages
- What would love do here?
- Emergency uses for EFT
- A problem with Happy Birthday
- Expert golfers, EFT and comfort zones
- Men only want one thing
- Tinkie said, "I don't fit in"
- Cholesterol and EFT
- Free to pee
- Programming dreams with EFT
- When you gotta go...
- Crohn's disease, gas, dental pain and a message from Albert Einstein
- Intentional EFT, enhancing romance and chewing cold things
- EFT on Schizophrenia
- Alzheimer's, "Absent tapping," & other experiences
- EFT and circumcision
- Low libido
- Suicidal client helped over the phone
- A blind man's erection problem
- Fasting??--try it on everything
- Using EFT on Paranoid Schizophrenia
- EFT helps trumpeter blow his own horn
- Clients with low energy--(Note: many suggestions from our members follow this message)
- Using "Setup Emphasis" for gout and other stubborn issues.
- Pulse rate improvement: From 130 to 90 in 1 minute
- Delayed reaction to EFT--back pain & rape trauma
- Intentionality on an airplane
- Inside a successful schizophrenia case
- Anaphylactic shock--"Before her eyes, the swelling began to go down."
- EFT, phone work and a business idea
- Migraines and a chocolate/cookies addiction
- Tapping with intention
- Breasts, body parts and self image concerns
- Feeling Responsible For Someone Else's Death
- Persistence, hemorrhoids & Uncle Bugs
- Two EFT success stories: pain & the opinions of others
- Contempt and the effects of projection
- Greg Nicosia on tapping with intention
- Puppy dog, wetting one's pants, stress & a "no results" case
- Dental gagging and accepting oneself
- Jason's motion sickness
- EFT and self image
- Apex problem--a response twist
- Emotional nose, burning house & golf questions
- A miscarriage and the recall of core issues.
- Tapping the finger points and the value of a hug
- EFT for growing larger breasts
- Using EFT for Fertility.
- Phantom limb pain
- Using EFT with frail people
- No more "conversations in my head"
- Pyrophobia, fear of medicines and working with groups over the phone.
- Rapport in the prison system--Part I of III
- "But it doesn't work for me...."
- Jet lag--tuning your time field
- Persistent tapping on several issues
- A question for digging deep
- Emotions, physical ailments and hidden issues
- More uses of EFT & a philosophical bent
- Tapping variations
- "Harry's" case and breathing suggestion
- Followup on EFT in the prison system
- Physical problems and persistence
- Using EFT on past life issues
- Core issues, sexual pleasure and "The Sins of Eve"
- Headaches, substance sensitivities, phone work, dental fears and grief
- How to become "unstuck"
- Henry's phrase points to core issues
- Using EFT for severe mental retardation
- Down Syndrome and EFT
- There's something lacking in my career
- Her sinuses opened like a floodgate
- Balance problem, corns & autism
- Using EFT to enhance education skills
- Mourning the mother she's slowly losing
- Tapping brought us closer and made me understand
- A bridge for "Dr. Fred's" beliefs
- Food repulsion, email phobia, golf & rejection
- Plugged up ears, suicide and delayed reactions
- Working together on vertigo
- A how-to guide for using EFT with couples.
- Creative reframing: Satan to God
- Hip replacement, magic and miracles
- EFT with a mentally retarded patient
- Dying gently
- Lactose intolerance--including a 6 month follow-up--see below
- Thought for the day
- Bringing down the barriers to a better bedroom
- Enhancing performance as a metaphor for life issues
- Mr Persistence, EFT and a brain tumor
- A teeny(?) and delightful success
- Business owner moves his business to the next level.
- Food repulsion: Green furry things and yucky tomatoes!
- An EFT "Pre-Beginner" reports success
- Warts
- Press Releases
- EFT in the News
- Stories
- Weight Loss
- Editorials
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Why do you sell it so inexpensively?
- What do I do when the clients stop tapping even though they have had substantial success with EFT?
- How does EFT differ from Thought Field Therapy (TFT)?
- What's a good way for newcomers to apply EFT to themselves?
- What do I say while performing EFT?
- Can EFT be combined with other techniques?
- How do I find answers to my EFT questions?
- How do you help a "non-feeling" client?
- Does EFT work on______?
- How long do the results last?
- EFT is obvious! So why wasn't it discovered many decades ago?
- I'm used to affirmations being stated in the positive. Why does the EFT Setup language focus on the negative? What if I used positive statements instead?
- Does it matter whether or not the EFT practitioner is skeptical?
- How do I use EFT for___________?
- When EFT relieves pain, does it mask the pain and thus thwart the ability for pain to signal danger?
- Are EFT's results due to either placebo effects or distraction?
- Using EFT for Epilepsy and seizures
- Are there suggested guidelines for professionals regarding an Informed Consent Statement?
- How do I apply EFT for performance issues?
- Are there any problems using EFT for pregnancy?
- Are there any negative side effects or abreactions?
- Can EFT cause a client to "feel worse?"
- How do I introduce EFT to skeptics?
- Can we do EFT surrogately or through intention? If so do we need permission?
- Can I be effective with "just the basics?"
- How do I handle Hand-Me-Down EFT?
- How do I choose the language to use while doing EFT?
- When it doesn't work....???
- How do I handle the "Big One?"
- How do I find a client's "hidden issues?"
- What procedures might be taken if a client is undergoing a medical emergency?
- Fear
- Humor
- A Novel Approach to Saving Money
- WHY GOD MADE MOMS
- How to Clean the Toilet
- Internet Police
- Why Learn English Part 1
- Where Is God ?
- Phrases from the 50's - Part 1
- New Year's Resolutions -- Over Time
- Car Warning
- I Think I Need a Computer
- DINNER INVITATION
- QUALITY ASSURANCE
- HOLLYWOOD SQUARES - THE GOOD OLD DAYS (PART 1)
- Dear Bubba
- Missing
- Good Communication
- MAN
- YEP
- Call Center
- Classified Ads
- THE LAWS OF INCONVENIENCE
- Monastery Life
- BY THE BOOK
- Funny Sayings - Part 9
- Why Dogs Can't Use Computers
- Politically Correct About Men
- Product Labels
- Job Competition
- What I've Learned by Having Boys
- EYEGLASSES
- Cyclic Number
- Kids and Proverbs - Part 5
- COURTROOM BLOOPERS
- Monkey Business
- Bad Puns
- For Those Who Take Life Too Seriously
- The Human Race is Doomed
- Photogenic?
- RESTAURANT MATH
- RESERVATIONS OF AN AIRLINE AGENT
- Quick Jokes
- Detective Mom
- Painting the Porch
- Aging Gracefully
- Animal Super Bowl
- WHY GOD MADE MOMS
- The Clergyman
- A Kitten's Prayer
- Why Learn English Part 2
- DAILY THOUGHTS FROM DOGS AND CATS
- Phrases from the 50's - Part 2
- The Minister and the Funeral
- Case Closed
- Having a Bad Day
- Airline Maintenance
- A DRY TOWN
- HOLLYWOOD SQUARES - THE GOOD OLD DAYS - PART 2
- Deep Observations on Life
- Out of the Mouths of Babes
- Wash. Biol. Surv.
- WOMEN OVER 40
- CHASING RABBITS
- Call Policy
- Classified Ads
- Fried Eggs
- Why Indeed ...?
- The Talking Dog
- The best road rage!
- Eating Oreos
- Signage
- Product Labels
- Skydiver
- Most ridiculous British laws:
- WHEN INSULTS HAD CLASS
- Creative Definitions - Part 1
- Mourning the Mayonnaise
- COURTROOM BLOOPERS
- Comments made in the year 1955!
- A Barbie we can relate to
- Fresh New Perspectives
- The Male Perspective
- Pull Over!
- Dalmation Duties
- Airline Food
- New Business Model
- Amish and Elevator
- A Pain in the Leg
- And that
- Three Dogs...and a Collie
- BIZARRE DRIVING LAWS - Part 1
- Coming Mergers
- Life Before the Computer
- The Wisdom of a Witch
- GOLF GAME
- Phrases from the 50's - Part 3
- Bad Day
- CEO Blunder
- Great Truths That Little Children Have Learned
- Airline Maintenance
- BEING COOL
- HOLLYWOOD SQUARES - THE GOOD OLD DAYS - PART 3
- Deep Thoughts
- Near Death Experience
- Walk A Mile
- AN INTERESTING PHILOSOPHY
- THE HISTORY OF WIRELESS
- Calories That Don't Count
- Cold Cream
- The Mountain Man and the Army
- Why Indeed ...?
- University Safety Committee
- 80% Agreement
- The English Schoolteacher
- Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
- Two-Cow Philosophy
- Untold Riches
- Abbott and Costello meet Windows 95
- WHEN INSULTS HAD CLASS
- Creative Definitions - Part 2
- The Price of Good Health
- COURTROOM BLOOPERS
- Bargaining with God
- A Good Explanation
- The Man I Marry
- Hasty Headlines
- Thirty Lines to Make You Smile
- Hasty Headlines
- MEMO
- Ancient Artifact?
- A Moral Lesson
- And that
- Is It Better To Be A Jock Or A Nerd?
- BIZARRE DRIVING LAWS - Part 2
- Funny Sayings - Part 1
- Computer Help Desk
- Life Support
- Women in Leather
- GREETINGS AND BEST WISHES FROM A LAW FIRM
- PRAYING FOR PEACE
- Bad Weather
- Chemistry Final Exam
- The Four Stages of Life
- Airline Maintenance
- BIKERS
- HOLLYWOOD SQUARES - THE GOOD OLD DAYS
- Deep Voice
- Annual Neologism Contest
- Army Insurance
- TRIBUTE TO BOB HOPE- Part I
- Computer Haikus
- Calories That Don't Count
- Commuting Hazards
- Winning the Lottery
- Why Indeed ...?
- A Well-Planned Retirement
- A Little Mixed Up
- Fifty Fun Things to do in an Elevator
- The Spanish Computer
- The Bank Robber
- Colorful Shipwreck
- Accuracy!
- WHEN INSULTS HAD CLASS
- Creative Definitions - Part 3
- Now That
- COURTROOM BLOOPERS
- Baseball in Heaven
- HMO
- Beer, Fishing, Golf and Sex
- How To Lie To The Bathroom Scale
- Twelve Step Recovery Plan
- Hasty Headlines
- Estate Planning Basics
- Astrological Light Bulbs
- Kindergarten Wisdom
- And that
- The Old Golfer
- BIZARRE DRIVING LAWS - Part 3
- Funny Sayings - Part 2
- Computer Swallowed Grandma
- Martha Stewart Holiday Schedule
- Strange Laws - Part 1
- 24 SIGNS YOU MIGHT BE CANADIAN
- OLDER and WISER
- The Bartender
- Circulatory Exam
- Success
- Survivors
- BILL GATES BUYS A HOUSE
- HOLLYWOOD SQUARES - THE GOOD OLD DAYS - PART 5
- The Definition of Barbecuing
- Not My Job
- On the Phone with with Technical Support
- TRIBUTE TO BOB HOPE - Part II
- Computer Haikus
- Calories That Don't Count
- Congressional Mugging
- Kids and Proverbs - Part 1
- Why Indeed ...?
- Dear God
- A New Teacher
- Finally! Answers About Marriage
- Talking Dog
- Signs & Notices
- Beethoven's Grave
- Adoption
- Amazingly Simple Home Remedies
- The Perfect Man
- Marriage Names
- A TEST FOR PROFESSIONALS
- How to Give the Cat a Pill
- Humor From the Church
- Understanding Engineers
- Hasty Headlines
- Dad Math
- At the Inn...
- A Christian Upbringing
- Have You Heard?
- Scared Straight...For Math
- Do you REALLY need email??
- Funny Sayings - Part 3
- Computers and Companies
- Microsoft vs. GM
- Strange Laws - Part 2
- THE GOOD HUSBAND
- THOSE WERE THE DAYS - Part 1
- Baseball Quote
- City Slicker
- Airline Travel: The Next Generation
- George Carlin's Views on Aging
- BIRTHDAY SURPRISE
- Funny Sayings
- Proper Diskette Usage and Care
- Only in Merry Old England
- Punctuation Is Everything
- TRIBUTE TO BOB HOPE - Part III
- Computer Haikus
- Camping Trip
- Consultant
- Kids and Proverbs - Part 2
- Why Indeed ...?
- In Memoriam
- Accident report
- The Fire Truck
- Signs That Technology Has Taken Over Your Life
- Signs & Notices
- Goofy Conversions
- Addicted to Coffee
- Professional Advice
- The Bottle of Wine
- Marriage Names
- PICABO
- Cheap Therapy
- Husband 101
- Having Fun in Wal Mart
- Hasty Headlines
- Time Out
- A Change of Vows
- Farmer
- How Banks Work
- Stern Sibling
- TALKIN
- Funny Sayings - Part 4
- Creation Retold
- Having Trouble with Microsoft Word
- Strange Laws - Part 3
- ITALIAN PASTA DIET
- THOSE WERE THE DAYS - Part 2
- Bathroom Sign
- Class Reunion
- THE LAWS OF INCONVENIENCE
- Calling God
- THE BLARNEY STONE
- Funny Sayings - Part 7
- If A Dog Were Your Teacher
- Politically Correct Holiday Greeting
- A Rope Went into a Bar...
- How Smart Is Your Right Foot?
- WORDS TO LIVE BY
- Canine Complex
- Cuff Links
- Kids and Proverbs - Part 3
- THE ARROGANT INSPECTOR
- The 'Middle Wife'
- Aging Perspective
- Flight Announcements
- The Sex of a Fly
- Honest Advertising
- Intermission Hijinks
- After-Thanksgiving Poem
- AN ODE TO ENGLISH PLURALS
- Getting Older
- Marriage Names
- A FROG STORY
- Chuckles
- Are You An Internet Addict?
- Washing Your Cat
- Speeding Ticket
- The Concept of Marriage
- The 84-year-old Newlywed
- The Company Picnic
- Eternal Devotion
- 25 Signs You've Grown Up
- SAFARI SURVIVAL
- Funny Sayings - Part 5
- Dear Dad
- Miracle
- Swapping Professional Secrets
- THE FINAL WORD ON NUTRITION AND HEALTH
- YEP
- Cakes and Ale
- Classified Ads
- THE LAWS OF INCONVENIENCE
- A Bed Near The Window
- NAME THAT BOAT
- Funny Sayings - Part 8
- Dog Thoughts
- The Perfect Husband
- Product Labels
- Toys for Today
- What I've Learned by Having Boys
- The C.E.O.
- Cured
- Kids and Proverbs - Part 4
- DADDY, HOW WAS I BORN???
- My First Mammogram
- Are You Ready For Children?
- For Those Who Need a Chuckle
- The Helicopter
- Give a Man a Fish...
- Band Insect
- Afternoon Rounds
- AN ODE TO ENGLISH PLURALS - PART 2
- Write it Down?
- Marriage Names
- WHY GOD MADE MOMS
- Inspiration
- That's all I remember!
- The Final Exam
- Now and Beyond
- WHAT IS LOVE? (Part 3)
- ANGELS IN THE POST OFFICE
- Sioux Indian Story
- The best day of my life
- Happiness
- The Reflection
- Don't Go To Bed
- Good People
- And This Too Shall Pass
- By Changing...
- Jars of Clay
- To Build A Bridge
- The Dates that Matter
- The Precious Gift
- State Of The World Message
- Cross My Heart
- Love and the papers everyone kept
- The World's Most Communicative Disease
- Strongest Dad in the World
- Children Learn What They Live
- The Archer and the Arrow
- The Firth of Forth Bridge
- On Failure
- No Matter What Happens
- AN ENLIGHTENED PERSPECTIVE - Part 1
- Keep Your Dream
- The best time of my life
- Healing Garden
- Rich or Poor?
- The Elderly Caretaker
- The Wise Sage
- Miguel's Poem
- Capt. Laurent Gourley...8-6-69
- Just Be
- To Risk
- Misfits
- My Resignation
- My Comfort Zone
- The Daffodil Principle
- Lucky's Greatest Treasure
- You are so beautiful to me
- The Cab Ride I'll Never Forget
- A Sweet Lesson in Humanity
- Are Your Potatoes Heavy
- Mean old Moms
- Flying
- Others at their best
- Are you God
- AN ENLIGHTENED PERSPECTIVE - Part 2
- Roses of Life
- Better Far to Risk A Fall
- Here I Grow Again
- Shake It Off and Step Up
- Look Mommy
- Start With Yourself
- Attitude
- Cerebral Palsy and a flower inside a cocoanut shell
- Kitten From Heaven
- To Track Down My Dream
- Creating Destiny
- Making Sandcastles
- You Sure Are Lucky...
- Determination
- The Magic of Hope
- 57 CENTS
- Broken Wing
- Infecting the World
- Attitude determines everything
- Real Heroes
- Follow the Leader
- Point of View
- Unforgiveness
- AN ENLIGHTENED PERSPECTIVE - Part 3
- If You Were
- The Boy and the Worm
- House of 1000 Mirrors
- The Star Polisher
- Magic Mommy Kisses
- A Determined Spirit
- The Magical Tablecloth
- Challenged
- Lesson
- Which one are you?
- Asking God
- The Pickle Jar
- Cookies
- Dig a Little Deeper
- May You Have...
- The Angel on Hwy 109
- Be Thankful
- Five Short Chapters on Change
- A lesson in attitude
- A Sioux Indian Story
- Good Corn
- Positive Side of Life
- Before It's Too Late
- EXPLANATION OF GOD
- The Mustard Seed
- The little boy with a bad temper
- How Do You Think?
- Stray Cat
- The Fisherman and The Investment Banker
- The Trouble Tree
- Whispers
- I Tried to Climb the Mountain Today
- Letter From a Farm Kid
- Whiners
- Crayola Bomb
- The Sneeze
- A Drunk Fell in a Hole
- Million Dollar Lesson
- SLOW DANCE
- The Loving Picture that will never leave your memory
- Secret of Success
- The Balloon Man
- Ugly
- AN EXERCISE IN GRATITUDE - Part 1
- Defining Success
- Great Opportunity
- Positive Thinking
- The Best Medicine
- GOSSIP
- Miss Isabel
- Boy Wanted
- I Love You
- The Carpenter
- Customer Service From Heaven
- Paid In Full
- The 30 Second Quiz
- Count Your Blessings
- Lincoln and Failure
- Wisdom from Oscar
- Twenty Four Crowded Hours
- A Newborn's Conversation with God
- Eating the Cookie
- Nice Kids
- Explanation of God by an 8 year old boy
- Mom - Job Description
- No Matter What Happens
- WHAT IS LOVE? (Part 1)
- AN EXERCISE IN GRATITUDE - Part 2
- Forsaken?
- There is beauty in everything
- A Group of Frogs
- The Race
- Does it Still Serve a Purpose?
- THE MEANING OF LIFE
- Time to Learn
- A Builder or a Wrecker?
- The Impossible Dream
- The Horseman
- Optimism
- Heaven and Hell
- The Seven Wonders of the World
- True Story of Courage and Love
- The Lonely Road
- Wisdom
- This is What Love is All About
- The Value of Time
- Embassy of Hope
- The Joy of Gratitude
- He Failed His Way To The Top
- Not The Critic
- WHAT IS LOVE? (Part 2)
- AN EXERCISE IN GRATITUDE - Part 3
- The Emperor's Seed
- Beauty tips
- Handwriting On The Wall
- Raised as a Chicken
- Distance Never Separates
- THREE DAYS TO SEE
- When You Thought I Wasn't Looking
- A Butterfly Hovers
- The Jag
- The Ones Who Care
- To Have Succeeded
- Letter To My Grandchildren
- What do Angels Look Like?
- Covering All the Bases
- Love software
- World's Greatest Psychotherapist
- The Obstacle in Our Path
- The Weight of a Burden
- Research
- The effects of EFT on long-term psychological symptoms
- Neurophysiological Indicators of EFT Treatment Of Post-Traumatic Stress
- Assessment of the Emotional Freedom Technique: An Alternative Treatment for Fear - The Waite & Holder Study
- Evaluation of a Meridian-Based Intervention, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), for Reducing Specific Phobias of Small Animals
- Self-administered EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) in individuals with fibromyalgia: a randomized trial
- The Treatment of Combat Trauma in Veterans Using EFT
- Energy Psychology: a review of the preliminary evidence
- Energy psychology in disaster relief
- Studies Accepted in Peer Reviewed Journals
- Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) For Traumatic Brain Injury
- Energy Psychology in Rehabilitation: Origins, Clinical Applications, and Theory
- Thought Field Therapy and its derivatives: rapid relief of mental health problems through tapping on the body
- The Effect of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) on Athletic Performance: A Randomized Controlled Blind Trial
- Theoretical and Methodological Problems in Research on Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) and Other Meridian Based Therapies
- Rapid Treatment of PTSD: Why Psychological Exposure with Acupoint Tapping May Be Effective
- Six Trauma Imprints Treated with Combination Intervention: Critical Incident Stress Debriefing and Thought Field Therapy (TFT) or Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT)
- Pilot Study of EFT, WHEE and CBT for Treatment of Test Anxiety in University Students
- Psychological Symptom Change in Veterans After Six Sessions of Emotional freedom Techniques (EFT); An Observational Study
- Veterans: Finding their way home with EFT--an observational study
- The Effect of Progressive Muscular Relaxation and Emotional Freedom Techniques on Test Anxiety in High School Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Clinical Story of a 6-Year-Old Boy's Eating Phobia; An Integrated Approach
- The Neurochemistry of Counterconditioning: Acupressure Desensitization in Psychotherapy
- The Effect of a Brief EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) Self-Intervention on Anxiety, Depression, Pain and Cravings in Healthcare Workers
- Change Is Possible: EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) with Life-Sentence and Veteran Prisoners at San Quentin State Prison
- Studies Presented at Professional Conferences
- Psychological Trauma in Veterans using EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques): A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Does Prolonged Exposure Need to Hurt in Order to Help? Exploring Two Alternatives
- Measuring Physiological Markers of Emotional Trauma: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mind-Body Therapies
- The Effect of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) on Psychological Symptoms: A Limited Replication
- The Effect of EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) on Psychological Symptoms in Addiction Treatment
- The effect of an energy psychology intervention (EFT) versus diaphragmatic breathing on specific
- World Trade Center Tower 2 Survivor: EP Treatment of Long-term PTSD:
- Other Studies and Experiments
- Before and after photos of Rouleaux--"blood cell clumping"
- An Objective Experiment on the Use of EFT for Depression
- An EFT study: Reducing anxiety in dental patients with EFT
- EFT for Libido: Study Results Summarized -- 80% report an improvement of 50% or more
- Preliminary Report of the First Large-Scale Study of Energy Psychology
- Clear evidence that our emotions affect our body--in this case, dramatic changes in the blood
- The results of Carol Look's eyesight experiment
- Articles evidencing the existence of energy meridians
- EFT improves Minerals, Amino Acids & Vitamins
- Cases
Table of Contents Help
The tabs on the right are shortcuts to where you have been:
- Previous Screen
- Previous Articles
- Previous Categories
- Start Page
- Hide Entire Menu
Swiping to the left will take you to the previous screen.
The folder icon indicates that more content is available. Click on the icon or the associated text, or swipe to the right to see the additional content.
Article Archive
Inspiration
Miss Isabel
Miss Isabel
"I don't believe in power mowers," she said, "and on Saturdays you will work inside."
Sitting in the library of a three story Victorian home with streams of warm spring sunlight dancing among the books nestled in the floor to ceiling shelves, Miss Isabel began to explain my duties as her summer hired helper.
"I pay $1.25 per hour. Tuesdays we mow; Thursday is flower garden day, and Saturdays will be general house cleaning."
I really didn't hear much past the $1.25, as in 1958, I was only 14 and that was a fortune. I had come to this opportunity by way of an older neighborhood friend who had worked for Miss Isabel for the past 3 years and was leaving for Notre Dame mid summer and so had referred me.
"Can you start next Saturday? 8am sharp?" she asked?
"Sure!" I said, "I mean, Yes, Ma'am." There was something about Miss Isabel that made you say Yes, Ma'am."
Saturday arrived, and at 8am sharp I rang the doorbell. Miss Isabel opened the door. "Good Morning," she said, "Follow me. I had some hot tea ready, but we won't have time, now. We're running behind."
Running behind? How could we be running behind? She had said 8 and it was 8 exactly. As Miss Isabel led me down the hall to the kitchen, she imparted to me lesson one. "I have found," she said, "that when you arrive at work fifteen to twenty minutes early, it allows you to settle in." It wasn't a scold, but I felt somehow I had cheated her out of something important, and I wasn't sure what.
Miss Isabel had already laid out several white cotton rags and a bottle of Old English furniture polish - the red kind - the kind I can remember the smell of to this day. I had observed that the old Victorian house had highly polished ebony hardwood floors. I was about to find out how they became so highly polished.
On hands and knees I began to minister to those boards with which over three years of Saturdays I would form a love-hate relationship. After awhile Miss Isabel suddenly asked, "What's your favorite flavor of soda pop?"
"Orange, I suppose," I replied, not sure what this was about.
"I'm going to Ralph Brown's market," she said, "and I'll be coming back in half an hour. Will you please come outside and swing open the garage doors?"
As I opened the doors, I saw resting comfortably in the huge detached three car garage, a pristine four door sea green Plymouth, circa 1947, and even though 11 years old, looking brand new. I would soon come to learn how this automobile stayed so spotless. Miss Isabel drove away, and true to her word, returned in 30 minutes. I had gone back to finishing up the floors, so she tooted for me to come outside. "Please carry in the groceries and put them on the sideboard," she said, and off she went to the house. As I sat the groceries on the sideboard, she instructed me to dust down the Plymouth and put it away. Here lay a problem - I couldn't drive.
"Miss Isabel," I said, "I don't know how to drive. I'm only fourteen."
"Fine," she said, "I'll pull her in and you dust her down and close the doors." Off she went with me trailing behind. For a woman in her late 60's and barely 5 feet tall, she was surprisingly quick, and I had to hustle to keep up. When I returned to the kitchen, Miss Isabel had prepared two ice cream sodas with orange soda pop. They were resting on a beautiful silver serving tray. "Bring these along to the library," she ordered.
As I carried the treats along behind, she casually suggested that I arrive 30 minutes early on Tuesday for my driving lesson. I was astounded. Driving lesson? I couldn't believe that I was going to get to drive. Lesson two.
Miss Isabel took a seat in one of her high wingback chairs. For the first time, I took a moment to observe my employer. It was hard to believe that someone so tiny could be so impressive. I was accustomed to football and basketball coaches, big men, and even my dad was six feet four, but no one I had ever met was in such control of her surroundings.
"Jerry, do you read?" she asked.
"Yes, I can read really well," I replied.
"No, Jerry, not can you read, do you read?"
"Do you mean for the fun of it?"
"Exactly! What's the last book you read for fun?"
"Riders of the Purple Sage, I guess, a couple of years ago."
"Have you ever seen Purple Sage?" she asked.
"I don't guess so."
"Well, we'll plant some in the garden and you can tend to it. Now, Jerry, pick a book you'd like to read, and we'll discuss it next week."
That started three years of sodas and book reports, although I never knew I was giving book reports. As we discussed the books, Miss Isabel could make me feel the cold of the Yukon, the heat of the Jungle, the dry winds of the African desert and see the glitter of the jewels of King Solomon's mines.
For the first few weeks, I only reported my reading to escape the hated task of pulling the dreaded chickweed from the garden, but eventually, I came to consider those book review sessions the very best part of Saturday.
After three years of polishing floors, learning to drive, and developing a permanent hate for chickweed, Miss Isabel told me one Saturday to come to work in tie and jacket. This seemed very bizarre for a lawn boy/floor polisher, but by then, I had learned not to question Miss Isabel's requests. Unknown to me, Miss Isabel had summoned to her home Mr. Fox, the director of the Springfield-Greene County Library, to have an ice cream soda.
Mr. Fox chose strawberry, and as he casually sipped away, Miss Isabel Shepard explained to him that I was ready to start my employment with the Library system as a page, the very next week. She went on to discuss my qualities as an employee, and spoke of my knowledge of authors, subject matter and considerable interest in National Geographic, although she claimed not to know why. But maybe she did.
Mr. Fox was at least six feet four inches tall, but under Miss Isabel's dominance, he became her willing and eager to please student. He immediately briefed me on when and where to report the following Saturday. Miss Isabel and I spent the rest of the afternoon discussing the responsibilities of librarians, and how I should find a suitable replacement for myself as her employee.
These things came to pass, and though Miss Isabel Shepard has long since passed away, I cannot help but think the problems of teen violence and crime could be diminished by a summer spent among the flowers, sage, dreaded chickweed and books of Miss Isabel Shepard's Victorian home, or even some time spent in the Shepard Room of the public library, which was named in her honor.
After all, when you're 14 years old and you're discussing Ernest Hemingway with Miss Isabel, how can you be thinking about building a bomb?
By Jerry Hayes, Source Unknown
FOR MORE EFT HELP ...
Explore our newest advancement, Optimal EFT™, by reading my free e-book, The Unseen Therapist™. More efficient. More powerful.