by MarianBeaman | Aug 22, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, meditation, Uncategorized
The Lost Sock “Look what I found!” my housemate exclaimed in his throaty voice. He held up a single dark sock. Grinning at me, he added, “Here’s something you’ve been looking for since last year!” “Oh, my goodness! Where in the world did...
by MarianBeaman | Aug 15, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Nostalgia
“In a long, low cutaway view of a farmhouse at harvestime,” women fuel men with food, supplying energy for harvesting grain under the summer sun. The two genders work in tandem to complete the cycle of food production, farm to table. Iowan...
by MarianBeaman | Aug 8, 2018 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore
Do you remember . . . a galvanized tub like this? wading in a farm pond? swimming in a “real” pool?
by MarianBeaman | Aug 1, 2018 | blog, book review, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Tips, Uncategorized
Writing a book is a long, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven by some demon one can neither resist nor understand. ~ George Orwell Orwell is right about the...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 25, 2018 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
I don’t remember my first birthday. Can anyone recall that far back in time? But I do remember the highchair because all four of us children used it. And I remember the backyard at my parents’ house, the clothesline, and of course the outhouse, in later years guarded...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 18, 2018 | blog, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Quotations
Jenna is our only grand daughter. This July she turns thirteen. She is still very girly, but she is growing up fast and now prefers a more sophisticated look. Once upon a time, this little girl was a three-year-old princess. She woke up in the morning, got out...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 11, 2018 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore
Come to Bible School, come to Bible school, every evening of the week, come to Bible school . . . Always be on time, always be on time . . . Watermelon, Hires homemade root beer floats, and swimming in a farm pond with mud on the bottom, squishy between our toes –...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 4, 2018 | Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Neighborhood / Environment, Uncategorized
This is a photograph of my mother, Ruth Longenecker, in the tobacco field located in our family’s acreage in Bainbridge, Pennsylvania seven miles from our home. Until the photo was restored, I did not realize the presence of a figure in middle distance, who I’m...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 27, 2018 | blog, Lists, Quotations, Tips, Uncategorized
Here’s the true secret of life: We mostly do everything over and over. In the morning, we let the dogs out, make coffee, read the paper, help whoever is around get ready for the day. We do our work. In the afternoon, if we have left, we come home, put down our keys...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 20, 2018 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized
At Mark’s funeral, a church friend recalled his wisdom. The friend, who admitted to have complained about something trivial at the time, heard Mark say, “Oh, it’s not so bad. We’re just passing through this life!” My brother passed...
