We are re-running this blog post from December 6, 2016 in memory of a dear friend of the House, Fred Close, who passed away on September 17, 2018.

Fed and Angela CloseWe are excited to announce that OUR POND, a series of original children’s stories, is now available online. The stories are donated to the Ronald McDonald House by Fred and Angela Close. These hopeful stories, which encourage the animals to use their special skills to problem solve, were written by Fred, narrated and illustrated by Angela, and are cloaked with the beautiful music of Simeon Wood.

Fred, who had no siblings, was lonely as a child, so he invented adventures for his stuffed animal toys. One day his father bought him the record, “Peter and the Wolf,” a narrated story accompanied by beautiful music. He loved it so much he played it over and over again.

He wrote several stories, and Angela narrated them. On a cruise in the Indian Ocean, they met Simeon Wood, who performed for the guests. Simeon loved the stories and volunteered to compose and play the music for all the animals. And the rest is history! Now a collection of five delightful stories recount the adventures of Nozzle, Jazz, Whizzy, Twitter, Zanzibar, Old Kate, Bubblebath, Shard, Snag, Clump, Sally, Posey, and Boing.

Fred and Angela, who live part of the year in England, are forming a partnership with a Ronald McDonald House in the UK to share these stories with their families. They see the stories as a way to share their love with RMH families for many years to come.

We hope you enjoy them as much as we do.