Three local authors are enjoying sweet success for their written celebrations of coffee, tea and chocolate.
Short stories by Connie K. Pombo, a Mount Joy author, speaker and mentoring specialist; Pat Carroll Johnson, New Holland, special features editor at Lancaster Newspapers; and Priscilla Gertrude Simmons, an Ephrata freelance writer, retired church secretary and cottage worker; have been published in the four-book "Chicken Soup for the Soul Delectable Series — Chocolate, Coffee, Tea and Wine."
In Pombo's story, "Touched by a Coffee-Loving Angel," featured in "Chicken Soup for the Coffee Lover's Soul: Celebrating the Perfect Blend," she explains how an insistent coffee server helped save her life by providing the impetus to get a mammogram. Three months after surgery for breast cancer, Pombo returned to thank her coffee "angel."
"The coffee I didn't receive, the mammogram I should have scheduled and the coffee-bean sized lump I found that fateful day all led to the diagnosis of cancer," Pombo says. "We share things over a cup of java that we normally wouldn't divulge."
Johnson's "Sweet Shoppe," published in "Chicken Soup for the Chocolate Lover's Soul: Indulging in Our Sweetest Moments," describes the big importance of even the smallest of treats. Widowed and raising three small children on a tight budget, she discovered how a candy shop stop during a weekly family outing to the mall fostered healing and togetherness.
"My family's shopping trips that ended with chocolate are good memories of a difficult time," Johnson says. "I learned that recently when my kids were talking about the past. Adding chocolate to their lives after their father died was a simple thing, maybe a silly thing, but one that has stayed with them through the years."
Simmons' story, "Special Tea," in "Chicken Soup for the Tea Lover's Soul: Stories Steeped in Comfort," profiles her "grandaunt" Gertrude, who served proper, sumptuous teas during Simmons' visits. During the teas, Gertrude described the various origins of her vast collection of teacups from around the world.
Simmons now has some of her late aunt's collection, including her trademark teapot, which is white with apple blossoms.
"I realized how tea has been an ongoing influence in my life, as well as the memories of my aunt," Simmons says. "That led me to write the Chicken Soup story about (her)."
Stories for each book were selected from thousands of submissions and were edited and compiled by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Patricia Lorenz and Theresa Peluso.
The other book in the series is "Chicken Soup for the Wine Lover's Soul: A Toast to the Perfect Occasion."
Chicken Soup books, created by Canfield and Hansen in 1993, have sold more than 100 million copies.
HIP KIDS
Kids, it's time to get HIP.
The Lancaster Family YMCA, 572 N. Queen St., Lancaster, will kick off its 12-week Health Intervention Program at 6 p.m. Tuesday, during the Y's Family Week, Sunday through Saturday.
HIP Kids will offer children ages 8 and up in the 85th body mass index percentile ways to incorporate positive lifestyle changes. Participants must be referred by a medical professional.
Other Family Week events include a father/daughter Dance Revolution dance-off and a 1-mile family walk.
Cost for HIP Kids is $100 for members; $150 for nonmembers. Financial assistance is available.
For more information, call Jamila Brownlee, 397-7474, ext.128.
People, Places & Things appears Fridays in Your Life. Send noteworthy items to Your Life, Lancaster New Era, P.O. Box 1328, Lancaster, PA 17608 or e-mail: YourLife@LNPnews.com. 