by MarianBeaman | Oct 23, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Reflection, Uncategorized
Wiry Grandpa Martin, was a jolly little man. He had an Old MacDonald-type farm with chickens, a couple of cows, two horses, and maybe a pig though I never heard an oink-oink-oink either here or there. Theirs was a Jack Sprat-type union, with his wife Mary as generous...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 19, 2013 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
“Going Home, going home, I’m just going home . . . .” William Arms Fisher wrote a spiritual tune with nostalgic lyrics adapted from the famous largo in Dvorak’s 9th Symphony that hints of going home “through an open door.” Last Saturday I walked through the...
by MarianBeaman | Oct 16, 2013 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Recipes, Uncategorized
My mom’s sacred space is her kitchen where she offers the sacrifice of her heart and hands to those in need and indeed her family. On my last trip to Pennsylvania, Mother made chicken corn soup from a recipe in her head. When I ask her how much of this or that,...
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...
