by MarianBeaman | Jul 26, 2014 | book review, Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized
A grande dame of British theatre, Judi Dench, spoke with Anderson Cooper just before the release of the movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in 2012 making crystal clear she has no plans to rest on her laurels and retire. In another interview she remarks about...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 23, 2014 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
My policy on cake is pro having it and pro eating it. – Boris Johnson * * * July is the birthday month for four our immediate family. If you count our extended family, there are three or four more birthdays this month. This month I celebrate the...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 12, 2014 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Reflection, Uncategorized
We have to try it again. Here’s another shirt,” Jane said as she plucked one of Dad’s blue work shirts out of a plastic bag full of shirts—clean, sprinkled and rolled—all ready to iron. “Start with the yoke,” she directed. I grabbed the damp shirt out of her hand...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 9, 2014 | book review, Coming of Age, Conflict, Education, Literature, Quotations, Uncategorized
Sarah’s Flair for House-keeping She was the kind of woman who took the trouble to tie her hair with a ribbon for breakfast when many wives came down tousled; who spent an extra minute to stamp a design on a block of home-churned butter; who knew how to give a...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 2, 2014 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Reflection, Travel, Uncategorized
Atlantic City, New Jersey was the beach mecca for vacationers on the East Coast in the early 1900s. Still dressed in fancy Victorian formality, vacationers caught the salt air as they strolled along the famous board-walk at the Steer Pier, a combination theatre and...
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...