Front Porch Tales

by Gulley, Philip

• ISBN13: 9780060006273
• ISBN10: 0060006277
• Format: Hardcover
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

Discover the honesty, humor, depth, and wisdom of the front porch in this inspirational masterpiece of soulful small-town stories, which has garnered widespread acclaim for Quaker writer Philip Gulley. Reminiscent of the stories of Jan Karon and Garrison Keillor, this collection of real-life tales grew outof essays Gulley wrote for the newsletter of the Quaker church he pastored inIndiana. Graced with a gentle style and deft simplicity, these stories powerfully conjure the little truths of everyday life. Philip Gulley is gifted with the rare ability to convey the extraordinary moments and insights of ordinary people. Join thousands of satisfied readers on the front porch of this consummate American storyteller.

Table of Contents

Part I: Folks I've Known	13	(50)
Growing Roots	17	(3)
The Front Porch Classroom	20	(4)
When the Tree Went Crashing	24	(3)
Expectation	27	(4)
Doc Foster	31	(4)
The Paper Route	35	(4)
Streams in the Desert	39	(3)
My Grandma, the Saint	42	(3)
My Grandpa, the Enigma	45	(3)
Ruby and the Rain Crow	48	(4)
My Friend Jim and Why I Don't Like Him	52	(3)
Tim	55	(4)
The Wizard of Is	59	(4)
Part II: Hearth and Home	63	(52)
Why My Wife Bought Handcuffs	67	(3)
Family Vacations	70	(3)
A Family Tradition	73	(3)
``Patches''	76	(3)
Right Hearts	79	(4)
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!	83	(3)
Handyman Blues	86	(3)
Advice Givers	89	(3)
The Second Child	92	(3)
Presents and Presence	95	(3)
My Cup Runneth Over, and So Does My Toilet	98	(3)
Guys	101	(3)
Family Life and Other Reasons Jesus Never Married	104	(4)
Confessions	108	(4)
Life's Too Short	112	(3)
Part III: Observations	115
The Kitchen Table	118
Television	122
Vocation	126
Tasting Tears	130
Liberty	134
Stuff	137
Where I Stand	141
The Dog Who Wouldn't Die	144
Soul Tending	148
Seeking and Finding	152
Exercise	156
Misery to Joy	160
Taking Inventory	163
Hardware Heaven	167
Family Values	171

Excerpts

Front Porch Tales
Warm Hearted Stories of Family, Faith, Laughter and Love

Growing Roots

Had an old neighbor when I was growing up named Doctor Gibbs. He didn't look like any doctor I'd ever known. Every time I saw him, he was wearing denim overalls and a straw hat, the front brim of which was green sunglass plastic. He smiled a lot, a smile that matched his hat-old and crinkly and wellworn. He never yelled at us for playing in his yard. I remember him as someone who was a lot nicer than circumstances warranted.

When Doctor Gibbs wasn't saving lives, he was planting trees. His house sat on ten acres, and his life-goal was to make it a forest. The good doctor had some interesting theories concerning plant husbandry. He came from the "No pain, no gain" school of horticulture. He never watered his new trees, which flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Once I asked why. He said that watering plants spoiled them, and that if you water them, each successive tree generation will grow weaker and weaker. So you have to make things rough for them and weed out the weenie trees early on ...

Front Porch Tales
Warm Hearted Stories of Family, Faith, Laughter and Love. Copyright © by Philip Gulley. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold.

---

Excerpted from Front Porch Tales: Warm Hearted Stories of Family, Faith, Laughter and Love by Philip Gulley
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.