by MarianBeaman | Apr 4, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations
Last year when we were sorting through piles of paper in Grandma and Aunt Ruthie’s attic, I found this: just one leaf from a tablet my Grandma Longenecker began as a diary. She may have intended to add more. Grandma’s Diary: the unedited transcription:...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 28, 2018 | blog, Easter, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, meditation, Quotations, Uncategorized
A prophet and a poet deliver an Easter message for 2018. This message is for you if you have ever felt depressed ecstatic or any emotion in between. Story of Jonah Traditionally, the story of Jonah begins with the prophet trying to escape his...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 21, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Neighborhood / Environment, Quotations, Uncategorized
Howdy, Spring. You’ve been a long time a-comin’ “But you live in Florida,” you say. “Why are you complaining?” I’m not, but I wish for more flowers, more blooming trees, more singing birds ~ strawberries even, which won’t appear until April. I can never get enough of...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 14, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, meditation, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized
Magnolias are majestic and magnificent. I love magnolias! Magnolias usually appear in late March in north Florida, fading by June. The sensual blooms suggest both passion and fragility, turning brown as they age. These magnolias come from my daughter’s...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 7, 2018 | blog, book review, Education, Literature, Tips, Uncategorized
Why Do Writers Write? What About Writers’ Block? What is Hypergraphia? Dr. Alice Flaherty answers these questions and more as she investigates the mysteries of the writer’s mind. Both a medical doctor (MD from Harvard Medical School) and a PhD from MIT,...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 28, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Lists, Literature, Memory, Quotations, Tips, Uncategorized
Five is the magic number this week: I have arrived at the 5th anniversary of my blog. And as it happens in the Land of Even Numbers, this is my 400th post. Magical! In 2013 when this blog was birthed, I posted twice a week, Wednesdays and Saturdays. As writing my...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 21, 2018 | blog, book review, chalk drawing, Cliff Beaman artist, Uncategorized
Author Cliff narrates the story of his creating The Boy Who Grew Too Small . . . The Dream One night I dreamed about a boy who started shrinking because he began smoking. Why such a dream, you ask? I had just learned that the Florida legislature had won a case...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 14, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Romance, Uncategorized
Missing a Heart A tornado whirling through Kansas, whisked Dorothy and her dog Toto to the magical land of Oz hoping to meet the Wizard in the Emerald City. As they progressed along the Yellow Brick Road, they met three creatures who lacked something important: a...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 7, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
A little church in Alabama with rough-hewn walls holds a glittering stained glass window with this expression: Not lost but gone before. The saying in golden glass ends with a period though it’s not a complete sentence. Yet those five words reflect on a real...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 31, 2018 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Conflict, Uncategorized
February is Brotherhood month, often celebrated in schools, and in state and national ceremonies. Any such celebrations in your neighborhood? What does the body language of Garfield and Odie suggest? If you created a...
