by MarianBeaman | May 10, 2014 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
This is the family I grew up in: my parents Ray and Ruth with my two sisters and one brother. But after I left home and eventually married, my parents had more children. No, my mother was not a modern-day Sarah. She didn’t have babies in old age. But in their early...
by MarianBeaman | May 7, 2014 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Purple Passage, Uncategorized
It’s spring concert time and I’m making my fingers fly fast over the strings of my violin pizzicato style, trying to keep up with the syncopated rhythms of The Typewriter Song. Noah Klauss, the director of our Elizabethtown High School Orchestra, is a fan of Leroy...
by MarianBeaman | May 3, 2014 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
My mother saved all my report cards. When I retrieved them from the attic, only grade 8 was missing. They are tall documents, sheathed in a coarse, brown envelope. And they speak for me as a student: mostly A’s with a smattering of Bs. Once I got a C- on a...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 30, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
Over forty years ago I left Lancaster county and my Mennonite life. Though I have visited dozens of times since then, Jacksonville, Florida, has been my home. Nonetheless, every single day I notice myself repeating rituals that reveal the imprint of my early training....
by MarianBeaman | Apr 23, 2014 | Education, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Uncategorized
News Flash! To mark Shakespeare’s 450th birthday, “the Royal Shakespeare Company is spearheading a three year Jubilee, between 2014 and 2016, that will involve theatre performances, events and live streaming cinema around the world.” * * * * * It’s April 23 in my...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 16, 2014 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Romance, Uncategorized
This is a sequel to a previous blog post: Flying the Coop: Leaving Mennonite Land with a link to my original story on Mary Gottschalk’s website. His Story: I proposed to Marian my Mennonite girl friend one snowy evening, my car stuck in a snow-bank. When she...
