Oh, what fun! It has been ages since I’ve written a blog on A Slice of Orange, but I could not pass up the opportunity to get in on this wonderful site’s relaunch. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Geralyn Corcillo and I write romantic comedy about women who try not to trip as they valiantly march to their own bongo beat. I write to amuse and delight readers, and in this column, I will write about what makes me happy – what in entertainment, literature, and life makes me go mmmrrh and fuels my zany fires. What makes me curl my toes in squeeful delight and what makes me well up with tears of utterly verklempt happiness and what makes me laugh my head off.
For instance, one day a few months ago as I was switching channels, I happened across the very first episode of Little House on the Prairie, titled “A Harvest of Friends,” which originally aired in 1974. The Ingalls family had just moved to Walnut Grove, and no one in town would take a chance on an unknown farmer and give him the seed he could not pay for until he harvested his crop in the fall. No one, that is, except O’Neil, the hard-nosed, flinty merchant, who trades seed for Pa agreeing to stack bags of grain when it arrives in two days. If Pa does not stack the grain by midnight of the day it arrives, O’Neil will take his team of plow horses, and thus his livelihood as a farmer. And then the day before the grain arrives, Pa falls out of a tree and breaks his arm and some ribs. And O’Neil will not give Pa an extension on the deal. So Pa stalks into town, broken arm and ribs, and starts to stack the grain. Concerned for their Pa’s health and safety, little Mary and Laura follow him but stay hidden. Pa stacks grain until the pain becomes too much to bear and he passes out, most of the grain still unstacked. So little Mary and Laura run from their hiding spot and try to stack the huge bags of grain themselves. O’Neil smugly watches all, not lifting a finger to help.
And then it happens.
Men from all over the town – the bank, the doctor’s office, the mill, the church, the General Store – walk into the street, all heading toward O’Neil’s, where Pa is passed out and the girls struggle to move just one huge bag of grain. The men form a line and all the grain is stacked within the hour. O’Neil’s name is now mud in the town and Pa gets to keep the seed and horses. And all the townsmen ask in return is that they can use Pa’s land to hold the church picnic on Sunday.
Gosh, I started crying like you wouldn’t believe as all the men, this harvest of friends, moved as one toward O’Neil’s in common purpose to come to the aid of a fallen man and his little girls.
Well, that is what I hope A Slice of Orange turns out to be – A Harvest of Friends, all moving in unison toward the common purpose of loving good stories – whether we are reading them, creating them, marketing them, or all of the above. I write to make readers happy, and I adore finding pockets in life where generosity, delight, and laughter abound. In my writing, I try to capture the essence of such pockets of beauty and sparkle in everyday life. A Slice of Orange is one such pocket.
Watch for my column on the 27th of every month and drop by to see my daily posts on Facebook and Twitter. Wherever I am posting, please feel free to comment away and we can dish – I love to connect with other lovers of good stories! And you can find all of my books on Amazon.
First and foremost, Geralyn Corcillo loves reader reviews! In other news…When she was a kid in Scranton, Pennsylvania, Geralyn Vivian Ruane Corcillo dreamed of one day becoming the superhero Dyna Girl. So, she did her best and grew up to constantly pick up litter and rescue animals. At home, she loves watching black & white movies, British mysteries, and the NY Giants. Corcillo lives in a drafty old house in Hollywood with her husband Ron, a guy who’s even cooler than Kip Dynamite.
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Thank you, Marianne Donley, for inviting me to write a column for A Slice of Orange. What a wonderful treat 🙂
Ger, I love this column! I want to subtitle A Slice of Orange with A Harvest of Friends.
Oh, I’m so glad you like it 🙂 And so happy you see the parallels I do in good stories and good friends. You know, so often, people complain about social media and people glued to their phones and how it is making us all more isolated to the point where we forgo human interaction. But blogs like this one have made interactions possible that would not have been possible otherwise. We can get together across great divides and bond over what we love <3
I admit it. I choked up reading your post when you got to the part about Pa and the town folk coming to help.
I love stories that move me, and inspire me to do more and be better. I liked your view of this blog as a Harvest of Friends. I’m already glad to have met you.
And I am glad to have met you! 🙂 That’s what I love about stories – the ones that move us just keep creating energy of their own as they inspire and get shared and inspire and get shared and inspire and get shared … 🙂
Thank you, Geralyn, for the post! It was great, and I also loved being reminded about Little House on the Prairie. It was always one of my favorites. I love A Slice of Orange as well, and I am thankful to be a part of the Blog team!
Hi Sally, Yes, Little House was always one of my favorites, too 🙂 In used to watch it every Monday night and every day after school in endless reruns 🙂 I was so thrilled when I just happened across this episode and realized I was watching THE FIRST Little House episode! And then it went on to knock my socks off. This was such a fun post to write and I am very happy to be a part of this wonderful blog!
I loved Little House on the Prairie and I remember that very episode, Geralyn. I so enjoyed your blog. Your humor and compassion is definitely contagious! Thanks for starting out my day on a happy note!
Guess that should have been…ARE definitely contagious! 🙂
Glad you enjoyed the post, Vicki! Do you remember the episode where Laura reads a paper she wrote – the whole town is there – it is some sort of school event or something – and she writes about all the sacrifices her mother makes, sitting up with them when they are sick and how Ma saved and saved for material to make herself a new dress but she used the material to make new dresses for Mary and Laura to wear to that very school event? Gosh, that one really gets to me, too. 🙂
I think I’ve pretty much seen all of the episodes over the years. That show showcased so many wonderful family values, and important personal and life values as well. We could use more of that type of thing on television today, it is sorely lacking.
Yes, people are too often ready to scoff at stories about goodness and decency in this era of gritty realism. But goodness and decency ARE real! And those qualities make the BEST stories! 🙂
LHOTP always makes me cry as did your description of the premiere episode from 1974. They just don’t make shows like that anymore 🙁
Right? It is RARE that someone can do heartfelt touchy feely stories about goodness and decency without coming off as schmaltzy. (Not that I mind schmaltzy 🙂 ) Michael Landon was one such guy who did it in television, Frank Capra was one such guy in movies. Thanks so much for stopping by, Meredith – an honor to have the much touted “Blogger Girl” comment on my blog post! https://www.amazon.com/Blogger-Girl-Book-ebook/dp/B01N75RPVX
I don’t remember ever seeing that episode, but I can totally picture it by your description. And what a great metaphor. <3 looking forward to more columns from you!
It is an obscure episode, to be sure! I GREW UP watching TONS of Little House on reruns everyday after school and I had NEVER seen that one until a few months ago!
That’s such a lovely post Gerlayn. I was never a Little House fan because it always made me a bit sad and the Olsen’s were too mean but the way people pulled together and helped each other was always inspiring.
Hey Monique! Thanks for stopping by 🙂 The Olsens WERE mean. But I like that they always got their come uppance. But yes, it would stress me out until they got put in their place.
I have never watched an episode of Little House on the Prairie, but your description makes me wish I had. Great post. Love the colors and graphics and your unique ability to make old words sound new and new words sound so expressive. Looking forward to your next post.
Hi Laurie! Thanks for stopping by. What wonderful things you say about my writing! Thank you. If you’re ever in the mood to watch Little House, you can probably find a rerun somewhere 🙂 Rock on with your own wonderful stories and art 🙂