LOREDA MILLER - AUTHOR
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​







​​Author of
Our Fairy Godmother 

and 
Morrie the Mudpuppy 
Who Wanted to Be Extraordinary

MORRIE'S ORIGIN STORY 
​Loreda Tells All

Picture
​I was a very observant child. I especially liked observing people. Even today, I am a people-watcher, keeping an eye out my patio windows to see path-walkers around my lake-front home in Arizona. There was a time when I not only observed, but also envied other people. If I saw a woman in a fashionable dress, I would make plans to get one just like it. If I saw a man having fun making balloon toys, I would take a class in balloon-toy making. If I read someone’s exciting account of a foreign trip, I would save my money and book a tour there.

When my son was in junior high school, he had the same envy. Given his gender, age, and interest in sports, his envy usually manifested itself in shoes. He had to have the latest, most expensive, athlete-endorsed, brand name sneakers! As a single mother with a limited income, this broke my heart. We discussed shoes, brand names, shoe manufacturing, endorsements, and again brands! I suppose I cut back on other things just to give him the shoes of his choice twice a year. I don’t recall what I cut back on, but I recall how happy he was to get the latest pair. Then Christmas came, and he asked for a Rolex watch. I didn’t own a single piece of jewelry worth $5,000.00, and I was not going to “cut back” to buy him one. He actually showed signs of depression when he unwrapped my Christmas gift of a Rolex watch knock-off. I think he wore it to school one day, when I insisted, and he came home without it saying he “lost it.” I was horrified that our lives revolved around THINGS. I was bound and determined to change my son’s value system. I wanted him to be happy, but I didn’t want that happiness to be dependent on THINGS.

​I read a lot of publications on satisfaction. I got to know a lot of people who appeared to have very little, but seemed content. I asked therapists about worthiness and how they counsel clients who feel unworthy. I watched students in the schools where I worked, and I compared their family’s wealth to their confidence. My son and I had long discussions about what makes us truly happy.  After my son married a materialistic wife, had children of his own, and divorced with a hefty child support payment, he was shocked into realizing that brand names are not required for happiness. I believe he is more joyful now, as am I. Now we have to work on my grandchildren! Not to mention the men I currently date. Some Arizona men are what I call “Scottsdale wanna-be’s.”  That may become a future book!

Morrie the Mudpuppy Who Wanted To Be Extraordinary is my story to others who have envy and the need to be someone they aren’t.  By the way, salamanders are exceptional in their own right. Morrie’s mother hinted to it at the end of the book. Salamanders’ anatomy includes a hinge in the back of their throats that is made of cartilage. This hinge is attached to their tongues. In the process of flinging their tongues out to catch food, the hinge gives their tongues an extra push. This makes the salamander tongue faster than any other animal’s tongue. And this is what makes Morrie extraordinary. 
  • HOME
    • ABOUT LOREDA MILLER 1
    • AUTHOR PRESENTATIONS / BOOK SIGNINGS
    • WHAT'S HAPPENING
    • CONTACT LOREDA
  • LOREDAS BOOKS
    • ABOUT OUR FAIRY GODMOTHER >
      • ORIGIN STORY - OUR FAIRY GODMOTHER
    • ABOUT MORRIE the MUDPUPPY >
      • ORIGIN STORY - MORRIE the MUDPUPPY
      • THE SALAMANDER
  • READABILITY ASSESSMENTS
    • READABILITY - OUR FAIRY GODMOTHER
    • READABILITY - MORRIE the Mudpuppy
  • ORDER BOOKS
  • Test1