Outlived Its Usefulness: The Reader’s Encyclopedia
Among the books I found when I cleaned out my bookcase recently was a two-volume set called The Reader’s Encyclopedia. These books had been on my shelf for many years, but they originally belonged to my parents. I remember the volumes from childhood. When I had nothing better to do on a lazy afternoon, I would […]
Tidying Up: Beginner Level
My husband was recently out of town for about ten days, leaving me home alone. I wanted to focus on my work-in-progress, and I did get a good chunk of it edited into close-to-final shape (yay!), though I didn’t do as much as I had hoped (boo). I also decided that while he was gone […]
Are You Celebrating National Relaxation Day Today?
I learned recently that August 15 is National Relaxation Day—a day is set aside to slow down, unwind, and relax. We are advised to avoid stress, not work late, and rest when work is over. What an odd notion—that we need a day each year devoted to relaxation. Whatever happened to “on the seventh day […]
Ky-Bee-Chee-Bee Did It
When I was a small child, I had an imaginary friend named Ky-Bee-Chee-Bee. To me she was very real, and she went everywhere with me. I don’t know where the name Ky-Bee-Chee-Bee came from—that was her name, and I didn’t question it. The spelling of Ky-Bee-Chee-Bee is phonetic. I didn’t know how to write when Ky-Bee-Chee-Bee […]
Questions of History Raised by Roman Empire Treasures
A few weeks ago my husband and I went to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City to see the exhibit of Roman Empire luxuries—gold jewelry, silver platters, bronze statuettes, and other artifacts. I was most impressed with the jewelry. I don’t wear much jewelry other than earrings, but I drooled over the Roman […]
More Odd Search Requests That Pointed to This Blog
Every so often I look at what WordPress.com tells me about searches that have led people to my blog. I’ve mentioned some of these odd requests before. Most of the search requests relate to topics along the Oregon Trail or in the California Gold Rush era. I can tell when someone has been assigned a […]
Memories: A Creative Blend of Fact and Fiction
Many of the posts on this blog are about my memories. My theme, after all, is “one writer’s journey through life and time.” And what is our journey, if not a collection of memories? Last week, the Wall Street Journal published an article entitled “The Value of a Flawed Memory,” by Sue Shellenberger. The thrust […]
Why Don’t I Write About the Chinese During the California Gold Rush?
The novel I’m currently writing alludes to race relations between whites and Native Americans, Hispanics, and African Americans during the California Gold Rush years. However, I do not touch on the Chinese influx into California. Why not? Because my novel takes place in 1848-1850, before the large wave of Asian immigration to California began. The […]
Old LPs: Finding My Youth and Throwing It Away
A few weeks ago my husband decided to give away all his unused audio equipment to Audio Reader, a service sponsored by the University of Kansas to provide radio for the blind and print-disabled. Audio Reader has a 24/7 broadcast of volunteers reading newspapers, magazines and books, and other programs of interest to the aging […]
The Importance of Brag Files—My Father’s and My Own
During my first visit to my father’s house after his death, I reviewed all the papers in his office. There were at least six file drawers, plus a two-shelf cupboard, plus two plastic boxes under a desk—all crammed full of neatly labeled folders, and all the folders were stuffed with papers. I packed about six […]