CHEESE SUNDAY synopsis

LOGLINE

Ten rambunctious mice, a fractious cat, and an understanding priest declare peace so all can enjoy the secret stash of cheese and eggs hidden up in the church steeple all throughout Lent.

PITCH

In the Church of the Holy Apostles in the ancient city of Athens, ten rambunctious mice raid the Fellowship Hall and stockpile the precious cheese and eggs until Easter morning. Since Cheese Sunday is Forgiveness Sunday, the mice decide that the parishioners can’t even be angry at them for stealing the food. But the church cat Muffin can. When the congregation finds the messy Hall and wonders what happened to its beloved annual cheese celebration, they blame Muffin. The priest grabs Muffin and goes up to the steeple, looking for the naughty church mice. He finds the rebellious mice sitting next to the piles of cheese and eggs with guilty smiles. Although Muffin wants to eat the mice for a snack, the priest enjoys cheese and eggs all through Lent, reminding everyone that cheese tastes almost as good as forgiveness.

SYNOPSIS 

Not far from the Acropolis, in the Church of the Holy Apostles in the ancient city of Athens, live ten rambunctious mice who hide their favorite foods from the church kitchen up in the steeple rafters. Cheese Sunday is the last Sunday before Lent, and after that, Father Joseph gets rid of all the cheese and eggs in the church kitchen for six weeks. Previously the mice lived in the Jewish Deli during Lent, but they decide to raid the Fellowship Hall and stockpile the cheese and eggs until Easter morning. Since Cheese Sunday is Forgiveness Sunday, the mice decide that the parishioners can’t even be angry at them for stealing the food.

First thing on Cheese Sunday, the mice scurry down the church steeple into the Fellowship Hall where Muffin the cat prances about. As the nuns finish setting up the special meal and Muffin sleeps in a corner, the ten church mice collect every last morsel of the different kinds of cheese and eggs and carry it all up to the rafters in the steeple. The congregation finds the messy Hall and wonders what happened to its beloved annual cheese celebration. They blame Muffin, who runs into Father Joseph’s study and shuts the door with his tail. The priest marches into his study, grabs Muffin and goes up to the bell in the steeple, looking for the naughty church mice. He calls out that he knows where the cheese went and finds the rebellious mice sitting next to the cheese and eggs with guilty smiles. Muffin jumps to pounce as the church mice scurry away. The priest tells Muffin he can’t chase the mice on Cheese Sunday because it’s almost Lent. Besides, Father Joseph at least knows where to find the cheese if they get hungry during Lent.

Then Father Joseph sits down next to the mice. With Muffin keeping watch, the priest eats his portion of the rationed cheese and eggs for the day, and every other day throughout Lent. He announces with a chuckle that cheese tastes almost as good as forgiveness. The church mice could do nothing but agree.

Copyright 2022 Jennifer Waters

STACEY PEACH SWEET PEA SPINACH synopsis

LOGLINE

A sweet little girl makes sweet peach pies to lure in love and gets a sweet surprise.

PITCH

Eleven-year-old Stacey Peach Sweet Pea Spinach likes to pick peaches, adores sweet peas and spinach salad, and even has hair the color of peaches—all because her mom ate those things before Stacey was born, because Stacey Peach’s dad had deserted them. Stacey Peach makes sweet peach pies and leaves them on the front porch at night in hopes her father will return, but all she finds in the mornings are the empty pie plate and a dirty fork, so she decides to hide out and find out who’s eating the pies. Turns out it’s a young neighbor boy who likes her but was too shy to approach. When Stacey Peach cries about her dad, the boy comforts her and suggests she could share his father and he could share her mother since his has died. Stacey Peach thinks her new boyfriend might be the next-best-thing to having her dad back. 

SYNOPSIS 

Eleven-year-old Stacey Peach Sweet Pea Spinach likes to pick peaches in the Sunshine Garden in her backyard on rainy days amidst the sweet peas. When Mrs. Spinach was pregnant with Stacey Peach, she overindulged in peaches, sweet peas, and spinach salads because Stacey’s dad had skipped town. Stacey was born with peachy orange hair, smelling like sweet peas, and craving leafy spinach. Stacey Peach plucks ripe peaches from the trees, thinking if she makes a peach pie with extra love her father will finally come home. Despite her mother’s doubts, she leaves a pie on the front doorstep overnight for her father.

When Stacey Peach opens the door at the crack of dawn, an empty pie plate sits on the porch. Stacey Peach is convinced her dad must have eaten the pie, but no one makes an appearance, despite her pleas. For the next seven nights, she leaves the fresh peach pies on the doorstep, and by morning, all that is left is the empty pie plate and dirty fork. Mrs. Spinach fears that a burglar might be lurking about and tells Stacey Peach that she can only leave one more pie over night for her father. Then, she must move on.

Stacey Peach decides to hide in the bushes until she speaks with the pie thief. Finally, young neighbor Gerald the Plum Gershwin sneaks onto the front porch in his pajamas. He admits he’s been eating Stacey Peach’s pies. He’s always wanted to be friends with her but was too shy. He thinks she is especially pretty, and that peaches and plums have to stick together. Despite his kindness, Stacey Peach is angry and says he ruined her whole plan to bring her father home. Stacey Peach cries her eyes out. Gerald comforts her and suggests that she can share his father and he could share Stacey’s mom because his mom has died. Stacey Peach decides that the-next-best-thing to a dad is a boyfriend, even if her mom thinks she is too young for romantic love. Stacey Peach kisses Gerald the Plum on the cheek, and they eat peach pie together and talk as the sun rises. The peach jam is even sweeter as Stacey Peach eats it straight from the jar and shares it with Gerald, her unlikely hero.

Copyright 2022 Jennifer Waters

Watermelon Seeds: The Story of the Magic Spitting Contest

Watermelon seeds are the magic of summer.

Fall, spring, and winter are such a bummer!

Yes, watermelon is sweet as sunshine,

But its insides are a hidden goldmine.

With seeds to spit as far as you can,

You’re a sailor that spits like a fisherman.

Planting seeds everywhere you go,

You never know what will grow:

A watermelon vine, tree, or field.

Your seed-spitting will have a yield.

So, let’s have a contest to see who wins!

Eat your watermelon through its skins.
Then, spit away to the left and right,

Front and back, day and night,

Until the seeds take root and blossom.

Oh, summertime will always be awesome!

On the back porch and by the lake,

On the riverbank and after eating cake,
The green and pink fruit taste like candy.
They're good for breakfast, at dessert they're dandy.
Roll them down the hill; float them in the pool.
Share them with a friend; they will keep you cool.

Watermelons are filled with such gems.

Their little seeds produce new stems

That are lit by fireflies in the night.

So, all the world is shiny and bright.

Copyright 2018 Jennifer Waters