For all the visitors to Maple Valley, it was just another day in make-believeville. Maple Valley is an idyllic town with perfect weather enjoyed by happy people strolling pristine streets, greeting loving neighbors mowing weedless yards, watching delightful children sharing all their toys, while barkless dogs play with scratchless cats. The coffee at Ya'll Sit …
Continue reading Scandal at Maple Valley – Episode 37: The Phantom Phone Call
Sheriff Pete Terkinberry enjoyed "Hannah's Egg Surprise" at The Ya'll Sit Cafe. He's been going to the cafe every morning for the past several weeks. Pete is looking forward to another quiet day in Maple Valley. The call changes everything. Sheriff Terkinberry had no sooner stepped into the office, which is his kitchen, than the …
Continue reading Scandal at Maple Valley – Episode 36: The Call About Sylvia
The big news around Maple Valley this week has been the suit filed against the Burthrap twins. Some guy named Dortsin Gimblemack hired a fancy lawyer from New York and sued them because he said they stole his recipe for binzelphrast. The bigger question was why anyone would want to eat something that is essentially …
Continue reading Scandal at Maple Valley – Episode 35: Not Forgotten
The big news around Maple Valley this week has been the suit filed against the Burthrap twins. Some guy named Dortsin Gimblemack hired a fancy lawyer from New York and sued them because he said they stole his recipe for binzelphrast. The bigger question was why anyone would want to eat something that is essentially …
Continue reading Scandal at Maple Valley – Episode 35: Sylvia Meisner Has Not Been Forgotten, Yet
Someone, no one knows who, or where, or when, said, "If something bad is going to happen, it will happen first in Maple Valley." I take exception to that notion. There are lots of things that happen in other places first. What generally follows is that the good folks in Maple Valley claim they were …
Continue reading Scandal at Maple Valley – Episode 34: The Christmas Disaster
It began as many stories do, with nothing. I wasn't planning to write an endless saga with characters no one has ever heard of. It just happened. Sheriff Pete Terkinberry, and all the other good folks from Maple Valley politely introduced themselves and took over. I was helping to clean out a small barn that …
Christmas is such a wonderful time in Maple Valley. All the old recipes no one uses at any other time of the year come out of the recipe tins. Neighbors ask each other for spices they don't have and don't want to buy. Eggnog shows up on the menu at Ya'll Sit Cafe. Shorty Cloverton's …
Continue reading Scandal at Maple Valley – Episode 33: The Christmas Miracle
It finally happened. Quintin O'Dillmotte has lost his marbles. The wheels fell off. The cows went to pasture. The dog left home. The last chicken's been plucked. While Sheriff Pete Terkinberry works feverishly to solve the greatest mystery to ever grip the good folks of Maple Valley, Quintin O'Dillmotte, of O'Dillmotte Funeral Home, "Where we …
Continue reading Scandal at Maple Valley – Episode 32: Quintin O’Dillmotte for Sheriff
It really is amazing how great a firestorm a few bones can create. The good folks in Maple Valley are falling into old routines that have not been put aside in honor of Thanksgiving Day. Maple Valleyans are thankful for many things, please don't misunderstand. They're thankful for the Ya'll Sit Cafe where they can …
Continue reading Scandal at Maple Valley – Episode 31: Tongues are Wagging, Again
It's difficult to say what has become of our happy little community in Maple Valley. Gossip has always been one of our strongest characteristics, but it's getting ridiculous. Last week, Vee Burthrap was convinced Shorty Cloverton was having an "uncommon relationship," as she called it, with Wilomena Shermer, the good reverend's wife. Vee Burthrap doesn't …
Continue reading Scandal at Maple Valley – Episode 30: The Bones Investigation
A Coffee State of Mind 