‘Stories that Warm the Heart’ is a compilation of about 150 short anecdotes (so far), mostly true stories or inspired by true events or characters, and still being continuously written. They have been e-published individually, but summarized in batches of ten here. It will be published into a book in both hard and soft copies at a later period, to be available at Amazon or at the author’s email address. Readers are encouraged to share these heart-warming stories. (Share this entire batch = https://eastwindjournals.com/2025/01/21/stories-the-warm-the-heart-batch-1/)
01 INNER SANCTUM
Sally, the idolized VP Crisis Manager in a prestigious bank, on the verge of a nervous breakdown due to stress, wants to resign. An angel in the form of a jobless homeless ex-addict bum descends to rescue her. READ MORE = https://eastwindjournals.com/2023/04/16/inner-sanctum/
02 STARTING LIFE AT EIGHTY
80-year-old Kevin was so depressed, he wanted to commit suicide. But suddenly, his total darkness became a blinding light. This story is inspired by a character in real life. READ MORE = https://eastwindjournals.com/2022/12/04/starting-life-at-eighty-christmas-version/
03 INTUITIVE WISDOM OF CHILDREN
Five-year-old Peggy had the power to save her brother from terminal brain tumor. Eight-year-old Francis had the power to solve a two-hour three-kilometer traffic jam. In their utter innocence, children have the wisdom and power they do not know they have, until they start using them. (Inspired and rewritten from anonymous Internet sources.) READ MORE = https://eastwindjournals.com/2021/04/26/the-power-of-children/
04 THE CHILD GRANDMASTER
This fiction story is inspired by Filipino-American Grandmaster Wesley So, who recently won an award in a chess tournament, and who was himself a Child Grandmaster at the age of 15 in 2009. The youngest Child Grandmaster, as of this writing, was Russian Sergei Kajaski at the age of 12, followed by Norwegian Magnus Carlsen at the age of 13. READ MORE = https://eastwindjournals.com/2021/09/13/the-child-grandmaster/
05 THE BOY WHO SLEPT ON A CARDBOARD BOX
Manolito, a homeless 15-year-old orphan, lived alone in Plaza Ferguson in Ermita, Manila. He slept on a flattened cardboard box underneath a bench. One night, like an angel from heaven, policeman Sergeant Leandro rescue him from his poverty. READ MORE = https://eastwindjournals.com/2022/06/23/the-boy-who-slept-on-a-cardboard-box/
06 THE LECHON KID (THE BOY WHO LIVED UNDER THE FOOT BRIDGE)
(Inspired by a street kid the author met in Blumentritt.) Richard, 7, has hidden powers he knows nothing about. He lives under a mini-bridge in Manila. During storms, he runs to Fr. Jay at a nearby parish church with his plastic bag of clothes, and returns to the bridge after the storm. READ MORE = https://eastwindjournals.com/2022/01/12/the-lechon-kid/
07 THE ALCOHOLIC MESSIAH – TOUCHING LIVES
The obsession of Irma, a big fat Irish woman, was to touch people’s lives. For 20 years, she was happy working in an orphanage. She loved kids. One day, the orphanage closed down due to lack of funds. She became an alcoholic instantly and ended up in the Bowery. In the good old days, the Bowery in downtown New York City was where homeless alcoholics wrapped in towels slept in the icy sidewalk in winter, warmed by alcohol and bonfire barrels. There, Irma started toucing lives once more. READ MORE = https://eastwindjournals.com/2022/02/25/touching-lives/
08 THE TOUGH BUT GENTLE GUNSLINGER
If we are to survive the cruel jungle, especially during this Pandemic, we must balance force with gentleness, aggressiveness with compassion, otherwise we foment wars we cannot win. In rare moments, a messiah descends upon us to the rescue. READ MORE = https://eastwindjournals.com/2023/03/11/the-tough-but-gentle-gunslinger-volume-7/
09 THE VALIUM ADDICT
A young Filipino nurse, traumatized by the deaths of her many patients in a cancer hospital in Amsterdam, develops insomnia and is on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In despair, she takes Valium, to be able to sleep, not realizing she was becoming an addict from regular use. She tells her harrowing experience and how she survived. READ MORE = https://eastwindjournals.com/2023/04/17/the-valium-addict/
10 THE ‘SARANGGOLA’ KID
This is story is inspired by my experience as a child. The ‘Saranggola Kid’ was my neighbor. He was 16 years old and I was 8. During the 1950s, the sky was filled with dozens of kites (‘saranggola’ in Pilipino) of all kinds during the kite season when it was windy. Tony was like an older brother to me. READ MORE = https://eastwindjournals.com/2023/05/07/the-saranggola-kid-a-true-story-22/
Go to Batch 2 – (to follow).
Eastwind Journals 