Springtime
At Rheems Elementary, a two-room school of eight grades, we observed a daily ritual: Bell ringing from the school-house steeple (always by a boy), Bible reading, the Lord’s Prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and then singing before morning lessons began. Miss Ruth Longenecker, my elementary school teacher, saw to it that her students were aware of all the holidays—and of the passage of seasons—reflected in the songs she taught us.
My teacher, also my Aunt Ruthie, wrote the lyrics to the song below on the blackboard, an homage to spring and then set the rhythm for us with emphatic beats of her arms, up and down, as we sang. The melody ”Tis Springtime, ‘tis Springtime” remains in memory as a melodic homage to warmer temperatures and pastel colors. Believe me, her tempo was much peppier than the one-minute YouTube rendition you’ll hear below.
The Shadorma and the Seasons
Spring has now sprung and our clocks have sprung forward too. Have you adjusted to the time change yet? (My mother used to call the change “crazy time.”)
Some time ago, my good friend/muse author Merril Smith inspired me to try a new verse form, the shadorma, one of the many poetry challenges she has embraced on her website along with echo poems, triolets, and lantern shapes.
The shadorma must form 6 lines of 3-5-3-3-7-5 syllables and, of course, make sense by telling a “story” or setting a mood.
Fickle month
Bye, February
St. Pat’s Day
Irish rule
Daylight Savings Time, Oh Dread
Celebrate: Easter! ~ MLB 2016
Something new this month:
Welcome March
Winter done, spring sprung
Wind blows sharp
Blossoms sprout
Dogwood, azaleas too
Warming heart and soul. ~ MLB 2024
And a follow-up to this blog post about health concerns . . .
Aching back . . .
History I hope
Treatment soon
Doc’s deft hands
Accomplish magic with wand
See—t’was worth the wait! ~ MLB 2024
The word hope in the verse above, written last week, refers to my treatment using electrical impulses to interrupt nerve fibers carrying pain signals to the brain. The jury is still out on “worth the wait” as treatment sometimes takes weeks to “kick in.” I’m declaring a wish for a positive outcome here.
My Checkered Life, a Movie?
M. E. McNair, The New Yorker, March 11, 2024
Since the beginning of 2024, my inbox has hosted a bunch of unsolicited offers. The first one from Lionsgate sounded inviting. “Book to Film!” declared the headline, followed by this lead-in: “We would like to inform you that your book has been selected as one of the Content Titles that Lionsgate Film would like to translate into a film.”
Referring to My Checkered Life: A Marriage Memoir, they raved about the possibilities. What I noticed in the fine print near the end of this missive was a caveat: “If you don’t have the requirements above, we can. . . expedite the process with a service fee of $3500.00.”
***
Another one from Parker Love, Hollywood Literary Contractor: We received a recommendation for your published book “My Checkered Life: A Marriage Memoir.” After careful review, our film and production crew from ABC Family would like to work with your book for a possible tv/movie/series adaptation, which in this case can be materialized through book trailer or a screenplay.
***
And one message even earlier from Andrea Grey, Hollywood Literary Liaison: “We received an endorsement of your published book ” My Checkered Life: A Marriage Memoir ” from ABC Family, 3 Arts Entertainment and a few other movie productions. After careful review, our film and production crew highly recommended your book for a possible movie/series adaptation, which in this case can be materialized through book trailer or a screenplay.” (Almost word for word like a previous message.)
To date, I’ve found no follow-up messages in my inbox. Not sure what to make of these. Have movie companies found a new way to court authors? To seduce them through carefully worded solicitations? Have you received such petitions?
Inquiring minds want to know. . . .
And also, any melodies about springtime in your repertoire?
One more thing: A Special Invitation!
Sign up on this LINK
Good morning, Marian! There’s a lot in this post. First, I hope your treatment does work, and you’re feeling better soon!
I haven’t received any movie solicitations that I remember. In the past, I have received spam from supposed editors. And I was asked to be on a real documentary, but I couldn’t make it. But who will play you in the movie? 😉
I will try to make it to your Zoom, especially since you gave us all such a lovely invitation!
Thanks for caring, Merril. My recovery is intermittent: Sunday was a feel-better day and then again today! When I see the PA next visit, I will ask if healing is recursive and not straightforward as I had hoped.
Yes, I do hope you can make it to my ZOOM webinar. If you sign-up and can’t attend, you’ll still get a recording. 😀
You’re welcome, Marian. I hope you recovery moves a little faster. 🙂
I’ll check out the registration tomorrow.
Thanks for the follow-up here, Merril! 😀
Thank you, Marian, bringing Spring to us! Hoping the treatment kicks in soon to help…..
I’m looking for more feel-better days, Jack.
Will I see you in PA in April? I hope so. 😀
Marian, I’ve never received movie solictation offers. But I thought they paid you for the rights to adapt your book, rather than you having to pay them. That’s my understanding.
I keep getting spammed by people who want me to start a franchise. I usually delete those.
Yes, you are right, L. Marie! There are no fees when movie operatives truly want your manuscript. I course I’ll delete them. Thanks for checking in again! 😀
Lovely shadormas, Marian. Spring is always full of hope for new life and new beginnings and I hope that your treatment will be effective very soon. All the best.
I’m glad you liked the shadormas, verbal harbingers of spring. Recently, I saw a photo of you and Peter online, looking very happy. 😀
And thanks for the well wishes too!
Marian — I hope your treatment works and the pain dissipates soon. I’ve received a few solicitations, and when I ran them by those in the know at She Writes Press and SparkPress, I learned that, at least in my case, they were scammers looking to bilk people out of money. Happy Spring!
Happy spring to you too!
Yes, I’m viewing the movie solicitations as spam, and my mentioning them now only confirms that notion. Thanks, Laurie! 😀
Hi Marian,
I’ve heard those “movie emails” go around and have a sneaking suspicions they are spam. Another way for people, to get to your data or wallet.
Here in the Southern Hemisphere autumn has arrived. Some of the leaves are turning and it will be interesting to have seasons again, depending on how far south we travel in the coming months.
No time or clock changes here. And, in Belgium daylight savings falls later than in the US, so we are trying to keep all the time differences in mind when talking to our parents.
I have to remember that our spring is someone else’s fall. In Florida, fall skips over the crimson and gold colors and goes straight to brown.
This is a wonderful time to roam about. Never before has it been possible to keep track of loved ones on several continents and both hemisphere. Safe travels, Liesbet! 😀
Hi, Marian,
One way to find out if there is any truth in those letters is to call each office and ask if they are trying to solicit your book or to talk to a lawyer who works with authors and their intellectual property and let them talk to these people who sent you the offers. I can say that I have heard of Lionsgate, and they are located in Atlanta, Georgia, or at least their studio is located outside of Atlanta.
I do hope you have success with your back treatment.
All the best.
Shalom, shalom
Several authors who commented here have vouched for my hunch that the solicitations are bogus. I don’t think I’ll be calling offices, Pat.
My back healing is coming in spurts, something I didn’t expect. I was told that the treatment may take several weeks to take effect. So, in the meantime I’m saying, “Thank God, I’m being healed!”
Happy Easter to you, Pat. 😀
Everywhere you turn these days, it seems there are scammers. I’ve received several unsolicited propositions. I’ve even had a couple who somehow got my phone number and inquired that way. Most resemble terrible actors in a movie. If they bother to identify themselves with a company name, there is usually a long list of complaints against them on Google.
Yea, for spring! We have a monstrosity of a clock on one of our walls. It’s such a pain to get down and put back up that we don’t bother. It’s been one hour off for six months, but now it’s offering the correct time again. 🤣
So much info has become public these days. Don’t you just hate it when people nab your phone number.
I had to smile when I read about your monstrous clock that tells correct time only half of the year. By the way, the clock in my laundry tells correct time twice a day. It probably needs new batteries, but I don’t bother since I see it only when I wash & dry clothes.
Thanks, Pete! 😀
You are a brave one, writing a Shadorma – actually, several of them. I would like to try one or more, but I’m not good at puzzles, and these seem like puzzles to me. Same with Scrabble. (Which reminds me, I think I’ll share a fictional Scrabble story on Friday). I love your mom’s phrasing of daylight savings time and turning the clock – “crazy time” indeed. I dislike it, and like Pete says, we have at least one clock that is difficult to get down and change, so we don’t. The only problem is many times my guy looks at it and panics. “IS THAT THE TIME???” he asks. :–)
Solicitors like that should get a kick in the seat and be fined $200/per solicitation. Maddening. Although, your memoir WOULD make a good movie.
Hope you feel better soon and the treatment works quickly.
Your words always bless my soul, Pam. Especially today, when my web guy and I were trying to authenticate my domain. I had to submit a newly generated password seven (read that 7 times!) to authenticate my domain. (Talk about spitting bullets.) Hours later, we finally got the green light, so I’ll have to say it was worth it.
Of course, the solicitors were bogus. The first time or two, I questioned whether they were legitimate, but then realized movie studios don’t ask clients for money; it’s the other way around. Thanks for your good wishes–and Happy Easter. 😀
Oh I HATE that. I got an e-mail earlier this week that said my e-mail domain (roughwighting.net) would be canceled if I didn’t let them know I wanted to continue. I hit the link – it was a scam. So yes, I had to change a bunch of passwords (after talking to Comcast for 2 hours before finding out it WAS a scam). Ohhhh, for the early easier days before “technology.” But then, we couldn’t blog. :-0
Happy Easter to you and yours. xo
Apparently, this wasn’t bogus and originated from my domain. The reason I had to authenticate it was because SO MANY bad actors want to get into websites and steal data, so says smart Web Guy. Thanks for always looking out for me, Pam! 😀
What a lovely invitation, Marian. I hope the ZOOM meeting will be recorded so I can watch it later. It will be too late for me. We don’t move our clocks forward until March 31. I can never change the one in my car so it is always incorrect for 6 months. Have a Happy Easter!!
You are right about the invitation. If you sign up for the ZOOM meeting, you will get the recording whether or not you can attend.
Happy Easter to you and your family, Darlene! 😀
Great! I signed up and will listen to it. xo
Thanks so much, Darlene. What a great supported you are!
Loved your spring emphasis, Marian, as here in “Winterpeg” we got snow today! It seems March is compensating for the relatively mild winter we had this year! It came in like a lamb and went out like a lion!
Hardy and his brother used to sing a German spring song with the line “die Baume Schlagen aus” which is an idiomatic expression meaning the trees are blossoming, but taken literally it could be interpreted as the trees are “acting out” or hitting each other! Hardy and his brother had fun emphasizing the literal interpretation of this line!
So sorry for your nerve pain, hope the treatment will work!
You and Cliff would make a good movie! But beware of spams!
I’m so pleased to read the happy stories you recall about Hardy (and other family members). In that way, your memories come alive and you are blessing others too, Elfrieda!
I’m declaring relief from nerve pain; that’s all there is to it. Soon it will be true.
Yes, the movie solicitations were completely spam although it was nice to dream for a little. Happy Easter to you and your family! 😀
Marian,
Alas, those movie “offers” are likely to be scammers. After my last book was published, I got multiple marketing solicitations, implying they could get me on the networks, etc. They drop recognizable names to get your hopes up.
I hope the nerve pain subsides and that you and Cliff have a Happy Easter!
Yes, the movie solicitations are completely bogus. I guess I’m surprised they haven’t spammed me before. One author told her followers on Facebook about the offers, appearing to fall for the bait. When I questioned her ever so gently, she said she’d run it by her agent. I’m hoping her agent was wise.
Happy Easter to you and your family. My PA sister is visiting next week and is hoping to enjoy the warmer temps! 😀
I enjoyed your spring poems, particularly the one with the dogwoods and azaleas. They would put on such a display when we lived in Virginia. The springtime song that came to mind when I read your question was “Maple Sugar Time in Old Vermont,” which I had to memorize in the fifth grade–although it’s more a mud season song than a spring song. As for bogus book-related offers, that’s what the delete key is for. I’ve registered for your talk on April 4th. I’m looking forward to it!
I hope your pain treatments help.
Liz, your mention of the maple syrup song you sang as a child piqued my interest. This link by Pete Seeger doesn’t have “Vermont” in the title, but it does have a lilting melody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHcTjNLhviw
Thank you for registering for my book talk next week. It will be comforting to have some familiar faces in the audience. 😀
It must be the season for solicitations. I’ve received half a dozen in the last week from people professing to have read And the Memory Returns. They say they loved the book, that I have literary talent and congratulation me on its success. One even thanked me for querying her about the book although I don’t even know who she is…. Then comes the pitch…helping line up radio and podcast interviews and more related to gaining traction for my “author platform.” I don’t respond because I’m sure their fees run in the thousands of dollars. Ah the beautiful and terrible joys of being an author! Happy Easter, good friend, and may the Lord bring you healing and strength and no more back pain! I’ve had a couple friends who got the treatment you mentioned and both said it helped.
In addition to our talent, these tricksters must think we are gullible also. I must admit that when I saw “Lionsgate” headlining the stationery on the first offer, I was flattered. For just a minute. Then, I thought, This is just a ploy to bilk me through flattery. Well, we both know better.
Thanks for the good wishes. Several weeks after the treatment, I’ve had intermittent periods of relief. So, I’m claiming healing, Holy Week a good time to do so. Happy Easter to you and your family, Susan! 😀
Hello Marian,
I’m intrigued by the shadorma. I’ve never heard of it, but I’ll let the idea percolate and see what arises from that. Happy spring!
You have talent in both prose and poetry. I have no doubt that you will succeed. When an idea pops into your head, write down a few words, and then attach them to the rhyme scheme.
Thanks for chiming in, Arlene! 😀
I loved your shadormas on the passage of time through dates and holidays. And about the scammy emails – it seems there are a flood of them going around to authors. Keep up the good detective work in derailing them. 🙂 x
All my author friends like you can smell the rat a long way off–and hit the delete button pronto. Thanks for chiming in again here, dear Debby! 😀
My pleasure Marian. And so glad to hear that people are sniffing out these scams instead of getting caught in them. <3
Absolutely! 😀
That is a very very intriguing title “Sketchy Solicitations.”
Now, does the invitation to your zoom club meeting count as a sketchy solicitation?
I’m just giggling a bit.
You go girl, and so sorry to hear about your ongoing pain. Prayers for healing.
Yes, you are invited, and No, it’s not a scam. If you choose to sign up and can’t attend, you’ll still have access to the NAMW recording.
Thanks, Melodie, for your support and your continued prayers. I have intermittent pain relief which is what is to be expected, I hear. In other words, recovery will take time–and patience. Happy Easter to you and the extended family! 😀
Hi Marian, your poems are lovely. Shadorma is my favourite poetry form. 💖 I have never received emails like the ones you describe. They sound like scams.
You can do a shadorma or any other poetic form, so versatile and skilled you are, Robbie. Yes, the emails were scams.
Nice to hear from you again. 😀
Starting at your ending, I’ve received zero movie offers and don’t expect to. I’ve written very little in recent months because I haven’t been well and my beautiful Monarch butterflies had a hard winter. I won’t know until June if they will appear this year.
I hope your back treatment is a resounding success. Back pain makes everything miserable. After months of high tech testing, we know many things that are not causing my symptom of lung congestion and shortness of breath, and there are a few clues about what it might be. More doctor’s visits ahead as I remember we sometimes never find an answer or a solution. I’m ready for a rest from medical appointments. Sending you love and days with no pain.