MY HOUSE ON THE CHURCH SIDE
Being different is not the same as not belonging. It may be a cause for not belonging but being different stands alone. I grew up being told I was different, not because of being the only girl in a neighborhood of boys (and I had two brothers, no sisters) but because we were the only family without a father in the house. It was quite unusual in those days and in our neck of the woods.
We weren’t confined to the back yard but allowed to roam as long as we didn’t cross the busy streets that defined the neighborhood. I didn’t have an ounce of shyness in me then, not even internally. That came later when I would have to push myself forward.
A half block up Liberty Street was a neighbor who also lived in a semi-detached house. He owned two lots alongside his house that were planted in vegetables but mostly in flowers. At 7 years old I would stop my bike and talk to him through the fence while he worked. He never encouraged it but he didn’t reject me either. One summer day I asked, “How come I always see you outside working but I have never seen your wife. You have a wife, don’t you? And how about kids. Do you have kids? I’ve never seen any.”
He explained to me that their children were grown up with households of their own and that his wife was very ill and liked to be quiet. I quickly followed up with, “Why did you build a swimming pool if you don’t have kids?”
These were the days when the only swimming pools were community pools that you needed to pay to get in. Woodlawn was the pool we went to once a week in the summer with the school playground program. It was a 2 mile walk, one way.
He patiently explained that he built his pool (a wooden structure 5 feet high, about 10 feet long and 8 feet wide) for exorcise, told me to never come in the yard without his invitation. I think this came after I told him about my climbing adventures on the church fence. He also invited my brother and me to come swim in his pool on a day he selected, with a written consent from my mother. We went two or three times and loved it, respected his rules and never pushed ourselves on his generosity.
His generosity expanded to giving me fresh flowers for my mother on Mother’s Day after I told him that I rode four blocks away to the cemetery to pick some flowers from the gravestones for Mom on Easter. He kindly but firmly explained why I should never, ever do that again, that if I needed flowers to come ask him. I never picked flowers from the cemetery again.
Category Archives: writing
TELLING YOUR STORY IS . . . .
Telling Your Story- Writing memoir is many things to the writer. It’s often a trip down a path that got you to where you are today, showing the result of sometimes funny things that happened to you and sometimes not so funny. You can write parts of that path, starting out at a bend in the road and ending at a bend further down the road. There is no need to try to start at the very beginning. That may overwhelm you, especially if you are older than 30 and have lived a full and varied life. I can promise you that if you write everyday, even if it is only a half hour, you will begin to remember moments you thought you had forgotten forever. It’s true, the more you write, the more you remember without effort. It just comes, sneaking up on you like a kitten trying to get your attention with a soft, tiny paw tapping on your knee.
About a year ago, I began writing about the 15 years of traveling Angelo and I did stopping at horseracing tracks from as far away as Australia, across our country, Canada, and even the Curragh in Ireland. So, look for RUNNING WITH THE HORSES, expected publishing date is August of this year.
more of HAVE I TOLD YOU? Ellie Newbauer booksigning party
HAVE I TOLD YOU? Booksigning for Ellie Newbauer went beautifully well today at the Rosemont Winery. A good turnout of friends from near and far on a lovely, sunny afternoon raised glasses in tribute to our 92 year old leader of the pack. Many HAVE I TOLD YOU? Conversations were carried on. We each read a page from Ellie’s book before we asked her to do the same.
Filed under books, booksigning, Rosemont Winery, winery, women, women's stories, writing
HAVE I TOLD YOU? Booksigning Party for Ellie Newbauer
HAVE I TOLD YOU? Booksigning for Ellie Newbauer went beautifully well today at the Rosemont Winery. A good turnout of friends from near and far on a lovely, sunny afternoon raised glasses in tribute to our 92 year old leader of the pack. Many HAVE I TOLD YOU? Conversations were carried on. We each read a page from Ellie’s book before we asked her to do the same.
Filed under books, booksigning, Rosemont Winery, winery, women, women writers, women's stories, writing
NANCY DREW?
What are snowy days for? To start a 1,000 piece puzzle of Nancy Drew book covers. That’s what. The puzzle takes me back to when my brother Bob and I put a jigsaw puzzle together on the dining room table. Always after the Christmas holidays were over. We wouldn’t need that table until Easter.
The subject of Nancy Drew took me back, too. I loved her books! I could hardly wait until library day at school, even though the librarian would not allow me more than two books! How unfair! That means I would go for days on end without a good book to read. Of course I wanted to be Nancy Drew.
Fast-forward to the time I opened a new, used & rare bookshop in the 90s. Gary Wheelock offered me the opportunity to meet a Nancy Drew author! WOW! Until then I had no clue that the stories were written by multiply writers. Carolyn Keene was the listed author on the cover of all the series. I went straight to the internet to do some research. Edward Stratemeyer created the series as a female counterpart to the Hardy Boys series.
Well, as least I would have the thrill of meeting one of the esteemed authors. Feeling like a 50 year old groupie I joined Gary in the visit. Some thrill! She was a miserable, unhappy woman who felt no pleasure, no pride in being the writer of the few books about Nancy Drew that she wrote, that were adored by millions of girls. It devastated me. A numbness settled on me. All my happy images of Nancy Drew and all they entailed slapped out of me by this empty woman.
Time passed as I realized that there were many other authors that I could still look up to with anticipation of meeting them. And I have. No more Nancy Drew authors, but there you have it.
Filed under books, women, women writers, women's stories, writing
FIRST FRIDAY OPEN MIC NIGHT SEPT. 1 AT 7 PM
FIRST FRIDAY OPEN MIC NIGHT! AT 108 S. MAIN ST. WARRENTON NC
Join us in an evening of readings and who knows what or who, may appear to perform! Gabe is preparing some foods especially for us! plus lattes, etc. coffee, teas & cold drinks. Come out to read or just listen! A NEW TRADITION-WE’RE STARTING AT 7 PM! Sterling will present selected music for added ambiance.
Filed under coffee, espresso, First Friday, First Friday Poetry Night, Poetry, writing
WHY TELL OUR STORIES?
WHY MEMOIR? WHY TELL OUR STORIES?
As tribal grandmothers and grandfathers gathered the children around the campfire to tell the stories of their existence, how they came to be, the children learned of their heritage. They learned of the struggles and joys of their parents and those who came before. As they grew into adults, the children could lean on those stories when they faced difficulties in their own lives. Stories passed down to them were the rocks they could revisit for answers to their questions.
It is the same with us today. When we tell our stories, and tell them honestly, we not only leave a legacy for those who come after us, but we offer help and information for those who are seeking answers for problems. How many people read the personal stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul and find encouragement, direction, and a way to go forward?
Another important reason for us to tell our stories – it is good for others to know the true us, the us that isn’t always revealed in our daily lives. What we think, how we feel, the difficult times we got through, our misunderstandings that caused family separations, and the joys we celebrated, these are life lessons offered to help any reader. They come from us, the everyday person who is not featured in the headlines in the newspaper or on the Big News feed. Our stories are so important!
Filed under Memoir, reflection, women's stories, wormen writing, writing
GET A GRIP ON YOUR GRAMMAR by Kris Spisak, a book review
Who would have thought! Or how did Spisak ever think of writing a book on grammar and making it so entertaining that I carry it with me! It’s a pick up and read when I get a chance, great to read in a waiting room and have everyone else in the room looking at me while my laughter overflows! This book is an absolute must read for any writer or editor or teacher or anyone who ever picks up a pen -to fill out a form or sign your name or write a note/letter. In other words, this is a book for everyone to love as I do.
Spisak gives us tips on the difference in using bear or bare, doing good or doing well. She also leads us into where to put a comma in greetings. Sounds simple, right? You may be surprised! How about cutting out unnecessary words that drag on you and don’t move your thoughts along?
All these tips are told in a breezy way that pulls your attention in, mingled with stories and examples that help you to remember the reason why or why not to use a word or a phrase, etc. I LOVE THIS BOOK! And (Is that correct?) I never, ever, believed before that I could love a book on grammar!
PS: Attention school teachers and those who order books for students.
PS #2: More to come on this one.
Filed under book review, grammar, New book release, wormen writing, writing, writing in English
PSYCHIC DEVELOPMENT IN THE LINEAGE
The photo shows Grandmother Elizabeth Urbanski Daniels (my mother’s mother) holding me approximately one year before she passed away. No stories have come to me about anyone before her in her birth line being psychically developed. She certainly was. My mother didn’t tell me about this until I was nearly 30 years old. I’d had some out of body experiences of my own, but Mom didn’t know that. She never knew it because I never told her. Mom had a habit of belittling me, so I wasn’t about to confide anything at all to her.
Grandmother Elizabeth (as she was referred to, never Grandma) read tarot cards. She was good at it. My mother was developed as far as my two brothers and I was concerned. She always knew before I did, when I was pregnant. I’m talking about within days. With my brother Bob, it was instant. In her later years, she lived in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida but knew instantly when Bob’s car was in an accident in New Jersey. She called on the phone within minutes after it happened. The car was empty. Bob was in the house with me at the time.
Filed under books, family, genealogy, general, Memoir, New book release, paranormal, psychic phenomena, women, women's stories, writing
SPECIAL EVENT TAKING PLACE, 2 DEC. 2016!
Announcing a special event happening along the border of North Carolina and Virginia. December 2, 2016 from 1 until 3 pm+ at Backyard Birds and Coffee, Hwy 903, Bracey, Virginia (entrance driveway is next to the Sunoco Gas Station) Five local authors of various genres are gathering together for an afternoon of excitement. Bring your questions and comments. Come, join us. Remember that books inscribed by the author make great, unique Christmas gifts! Refreshments served.
Sandra Martin – memoir ~ Snapshots ~ Memories and Recipes
These stories are from Bracey farm girl, to suburban mother and finally to the life of a NYC literary agent. Ms Martin represented clients in the emerging mainstream genres of deep spirituality, ESP and the paranormal, alternative health and then there were the conspiracy books.
Arlene S. Bice – memoir~ A Nosegay of Violets- A Writer’s Memoir of Psychic Awakening
An ordinary girl grows into womanhood while experiencing extraordinary psychic moments. A very personal story unwraps to reveal secrets held for many years.
Ms. Bice is also the author of Ghosts of Warren County, NC & Beyond and other books on true stories of ghosts and hauntings.
Thomas Park – poetry ~ Looking for ‘Cuda Brown
Looking for ‘Cuda Brown tells the stories of many extraordinary characters Thomas has met over the years.
Mr. Park, founder of Warren Artists’ Market, lives and teaches in Warrenton, NC. He has an M.A. in English from Wayne State University and an MFA from Goddard College in Vermont. He was published in Best New Poets of North Carolina.
Merriwether Shipley -fiction ~ Cassandra and the GI P.I.: A Dupont Circle Mystery
Cassandra and the GI P.I., a DuPont Circle Mystery, follow the events that lead to a college student’s chance meeting with a P.I. named Harry Shields in October of 1969. He suffers from shell shock which has followed him for 15 years. An unseen foe is trying to kill him. They work as a team to uncover the terrors, both internal and external, as they pursue life together.
Meriwether Shipley has been an actor, model, producer and director of stage and screen. She now applies her story telling skills to this seven-volume series of books. Ms. Shipley lives in Clarksville, Virginia.
Patricia Bortz, – fiction ~ Hard Truth: Secret of the Back Row
Megan Montgomery isn’t out to save the world, but her best friend, Nadia, is. America is no more. Christians who refuse the “”mark”” are arrested for high treason. Megan trusts Sixtus, the antichrist and President of the New World Order, until his true perverse nature is revealed.
In 1996 Patricia led the theater group at her church in Armonk, New York. She wrote and directed many short dramas and plays for her powerful ministry in prisons, nursing homes and homeless shelters. She was then led to write a full-length play based on the battle of Armageddon. “Hard Truth” was the result. The final performance played to a sold-out, standing room only theater. Mrs. Bortz lives in Bracey, Virginia.
Filed under books, Christmas season, coffee, cookbooks, fiction, hauntings, living with ghosts, Memoir, paranormal, Poetry, wormen writing, writing
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