Benny Berman's Lighthouse — Patsy Stanley

Nobody knows how long the little fishing village of Windflower Hale has existed on the peninsula between the black rock outcroppings and the yellow sandy shore surrounding it on three sides. On the edge of the rocky shoreline stood a tall lighthouse. Benny Berman the Lighthouse Keeper, inherited the job from his father, who inherited it from his forefathers. Benny is a curmudgeon, just as his father and his past male generations were. In Benny's family, the Lighthouse Keepers were born with cranky old souls. They were men with ornery, hidden, speechless hearts of gold. His generations believed that this condition was necessary to Light house Keeping, and passed it down through their generations. The solemn, quiet people living in the little village of Windflower Hale believed it too, and wisely left the Berman clan to their crotchety ways. Their patience abounded because Benny Berman and his forefathers saved lives during storms, and kept the village and it's fishermen as safe as possible. Everyone went about their duties, efficiently and as wordless as they could. A spinster named Rosie Cantor lives in the village. She is a calm healer of most village ills. She grows flowers that bloom year round in her yard and carries them to the ill and needy in the village. No one knows how long Rosie Cantor has been living in the village. Benny Berman lives alone in the Lighthouse, never curious about anything, until in his old age, he begins wondering about Rosie Cantor and the covered basket he sees her carry over the sand dunes and out of sight every so often. He imagines the basket is filled with exotic, gorgeous flowers, the like of which he has never seen, for he has never traveled away from Windflower Hale. Benny longs to see, touch, and smell the flowers he imagines Rosie collects on her mysterious trips across the sand dunes. Then Benny falls ill from old age. His time has come, but he yearns to see the flowers he imagines Rosie Cantor has in her basket. Rosie Cantor brings the beautiful flowers to him. As the fall into his Being and start growing, thriving on the Goodness and patience his soul has carried all of his life as he lays dying on his cot high in the lighthouse overlooking Windflower Hale. Benny finally understands the mystery he has yearned to be a part of all of his life. A 65 28 page book filled with larger life themes.