Swee-swee and the Cobbler

Dear Listener,

We are not so different from birds ...

I adapted this story from one that appears in the writings of Richard Wurmbrand, a Romanian Christian pastor who was imprisoned by the communists for his faith. He spent some 14 years in prison, much of it in solitary confinement and enduring torture on a daily basis. He was beaten so badly he was never able to wear shoes again. In spite of this he has written some of the most profound and powerful stories and sermons I have ever read. He was a master of the parable and this one, about a caged bird, is just one of the many that came to mean a great deal more to him, no doubt, as he lay in his cell.

The sound-track is from David Modica's album "The Water is Wide" - available from magnatune.com.

As usual, you can download the episode by clicking here, or by clicking on the embedded player at the top of this post (if you have quicktime installed), but by far the best way to get this podcast is to subscribe with iTunes or subscribe to the feed with your podcatcher of choice.

We hope that you enjoy this story and we look forward to bringing you more on an increasingly regular basis in the coming months. All being well, we are planning to move up to weekly podcasts in early September.

Sweet dreams!

Seymour

Two Handkerchiefs

Dear Listener,

Here is the direct download link for this week's story. You can right click on it and select "save link as" to download it to your hard drive or just click on it to open in your audio software. However, if you are enjoying the stories, then I recommend subscribing on iTunes or subscribing to the feed with your pod-catcher of choice.

Fleeing across the meadow ...

I also thoroughly recommend the practice of writing letters that need never be sent. I sometimes write letters to myself in the future, and have also been known to address missives to my younger self, or to people who I miss because they are no longer in my life, or to general vague things that seem to embody what I am happy about or upset about at the time ... I find it therapeutic.

Dear Diary ...

Dear Me ...

Dear whoever you are that's holding me back ...

Dearest ...

That is how this story begins.

This one is a "fairy tale" ... well ... it does have fairies in it but it may not be "happily ever after" in the quite the same way as most fairy tales end. You will also hear about two letters, and two wars, and two sworn enemies, but most of all you'll hear about two handkerchiefs.

In the background on this episode you can hear the haunting sound of Jami Sieber's cello - available (as always) from magnatune.com.

Look out for an announcement about Stories from the Borders of sleep becoming weekly in the not-too-distant future.

Until next time ...  sweet dreams!

Seymour