by MarianBeaman | Jun 21, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Romance, Uncategorized
This is the wedding portrait of my mother and father Ruth Landis Metzler and Ray Martin Longenecker October 26, 1940 June is the month for many American weddings. And so is August. Because many Mennonites were farmers, Mennonite weddings often took place in October,...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 18, 2014 | meditation, Reflection, Travel, Uncategorized
Author Kathy Pooler invites her readers to gather “around her kitchen table” for weekly discussions on her blog post. Readers of Laurie Buchanan’s blog know she usually posts on “Tuesdays with Laurie.” Most bloggers publish posts on...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 16, 2014 | Education, meditation, Memory, Quotations, Reflection, Tips, Uncategorized
Here is my study. When the magic happens, it happens here. Actually, it might happen in the flower garden just outside my window in the form of a thought or image which gets transferred from my head to my fingers at my desk. . . . Every once in a while, fellow...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 14, 2014 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
My father wore many hats. Work hats mostly, but also a goofy blue derby hat I faintly remember stashed high up on a closet shelf, and a fedora reserved for Sundays or other special occasions. Through his long history at the shop, Daddy sold a wide array of tractor...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 11, 2014 | Education, Lists, Purple Passage, Quotations, Tips, Uncategorized
Creativity You can’t use up creativity. The more you use the more you have. ― Maya Angelou [Hear her read her valiant poem “Still I Rise” here.] Creativity is intelligence having fun. ― Albert Einstein Make a careful exploration of who you...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 7, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, Tips, Uncategorized
Moment of Exasperation One of the mysteries of life is how things happen at our house. Specifically, how did the leg on this piano bench break? We still haven’t figured out the answer for sure though we have speculated on some possible explanations. How did this...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 4, 2014 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
“In the Good Old Summer Time” shares nostalgic space with another old, familiar tune of the season: “Summer time and the livin’ is easy.” Summertime for the Longenecker family may not have been easy in the 1950s what with tomato field...
by MarianBeaman | May 31, 2014 | Gratitude, Literature, meditation, Memory, Nostalgia, Tips, Uncategorized
e EGG Reader, in your hand you hold A silver case, a box of gold. I have no door, however small, Unless you pierce my tender wall, And there’s no skill in healing then Shall ever make me whole again. Show pity, Reader, for my plight: Let be, or else consume me...
by MarianBeaman | May 28, 2014 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
“Mare – yun,” my mother calls (yells, actually), “It’s time to lick the green stamps again. The books are on top of the kitchen table.” Mom likes to interrupt my reading. To me time with my books is serious business but to her it’s play. Not working. Wasting...
by MarianBeaman | May 24, 2014 | book review, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Uncategorized
This July, my friend and author Kathy Pooler will be celebrating Independence Day in a big way launching her memoir in early July. The book’s title Ever Faithful to His Lead: My Journey Away from Emotional Abuse hints at the road Kathy has traveled from victim...
