by MarianBeaman | Oct 12, 2013 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Mennonite Lore, Purple Passage, Quotations, Uncategorized
Most plain girls are virtuous because of the scarcity of opportunity to be otherwise. Maya Angelou READING “Reading gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.” Mason Cooley, aphorist (1927- __ ) “Reading is equivalent to thinking with...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 11, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
Linda Garber and Dr. Ty Graden will probably never be featured on the Making a Difference segment of the NBC evening news with Brian Williams, but they do just that every single day. Yesterday morning before Mother’s eye doctor appointment, her pastor’s wife Linda...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 9, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Quilt, Reflection, Uncategorized
July 2013 phone conversation between Aunt Ruthie and me: M: Well, Ruthie, how are you doing? AR: Well, I’m puzzled! M: Puzzled? What about? AR: I’m doing puzzles, doing “word find”! Ha ha ha! (Still witty at 95) Teaching: Adoring teachers surround their retiring...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 5, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
Announcing the WINNER of Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World And the Winner is (drum roll, please!) Carolyn Stoner! Thank you one and all for participating so heartily by commenting on my review of Shirley Showalter’s memoir BLUSH. Carolyn, you will...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 3, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
My sheets are pinned to the backyard clothes line now, flipping in the breeze. Today I’m celebrating the end of our torrid Florida summer by hanging our sheets outside in the fresh fall air. Very old-fashioned and very retro. I guess I’m an Urban Mama! We...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 2, 2013 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
On the ground floor again, we breathe a sigh of relief as we spot the bus two blocks away ready to pick us up to go back to the mission. On the way to our mobile haven, we pass pawn shops armed like fortresses, lurid adult bookstores with XXX ratings, filthy-looking...
