by MarianBeaman | Mar 23, 2022 | blog, book review, Literature, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, popular culture, Quotations, Uncategorized
Sociology professor receives a dire diagnosis He is stopped in his tracks He is also a Mennonite pastor How can he find a path forward? These four lines describe pastor and professor Conrad Kanagy, a Mennonite author who lives with his family in my childhood...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 16, 2022 | blog, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, popular culture, Quotations, Tips, Uncategorized
Hustler TV is X-rated Pornographic. . . with naked bodies filling the screen Though I’m not a fan of formulaic Hallmark movies, I’m more a wholesome-romance-kind-of-woman than the sex-crazed hussies and high-libido men featured on the Hustler Channel. ...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 9, 2022 | blog, Coming of Age, Education, Mennonite History, Reflection, Uncategorized
Sophomore Class, Elizabethtown High School 1957 Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania Have you found (or kept) an individual or a group photo from your school days? School snapshots are available online. Have you discovered a digital copy of a school...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 2, 2022 | blog, book review, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Kiev Ukraine, Mennonite History, Quotations, Travel, Ukraine, Uncategorized
I received a copy of Elfrieda Schroeder’s memoir, Ellie’s World, about a month ago. Though eastern Europe was rumbling louder in the news in early February, I had no idea how timely her story would be considering the horrific events of this past week....
by MarianBeaman | Feb 23, 2022 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Coming of Age, Literature, popular culture, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
The cartoon is right! I have been blogging nigh onto nine years. Also right: My hair is often a mess when I blog. (I don’t see myself at the computer, so I have to trust the artist’s rendering here.) Blogging is fun for me. I don’t hate blogging, as the...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 16, 2022 | blog, Gratitude, Literature, Memory, popular culture, Quotations, Reflection
Find the Colors in this Urban Afternoon Reflection February A chimney, breathing a little smoke. The sun, I can’t see making a bit of pink I can’t quite see in the blue. The pink of five tulips at five p.m. on the day before March first. The green...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 2, 2022 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Neighborhood / Environment, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
If you arrived here harried and harangued, or feeling hollow. . . . YOU ARE INVITED TO SLOW DOWN AND STOP. . . . . . to contemplate Frost’s Stopping by a Woods on a Snowy Evening. This rendition features a Lego character with a German-speaking narrator: ...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 26, 2022 | blog, Literature, meditation, Quotations, Reflection
Limited time, Pre-Valentine Offer for you or a loved one: Mennonite Daughter (see below) Enjoy the love story, Mennonite Daughter: The Story of a Plain Girl Kindle, in full color:...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 19, 2022 | blog, Coming of Age, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Travel, Uncategorized
Trains take me back to grade school, evoking the fondest of memories, like this one. My friend Wayne and I paused in our play in the woods during summer vacation. We waited for the dusty, black engine to emerge from the heat haze around the feed mill on the edge of...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 12, 2022 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
Like a double-side mirror, reflect is one of those words with a dual meaning. It can either turn in upon itself or look outward. It can cast back light or enlighten the path ahead. The American Heritage Dictionary illuminates further: To give back a likeness, as...
