by MarianBeaman | Aug 1, 2018 | blog, book review, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Quotations, Tips, Uncategorized
Writing a book is a long, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven by some demon one can neither resist nor understand. ~ George Orwell Orwell is right about the...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 25, 2018 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
I don’t remember my first birthday. Can anyone recall that far back in time? But I do remember the highchair because all four of us children used it. And I remember the backyard at my parents’ house, the clothesline, and of course the outhouse, in later years guarded...
by MarianBeaman | Jun 6, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
Once upon a time a five-year-old girl went to Cherryl Hill, a one-room school with a big bell on the rooftop . . . Early in the morning she rode over hill and dale In the back seat of the brown Terraplane Hudson with her teacher-aunt at the wheel . . . She...
by MarianBeaman | May 23, 2018 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Reflection, Uncategorized
I am blessed because I had a Mother who . . . Read to me In appreciation, I once gave this book as a Mother’s Day present to my mother. It came back to me when we sorted through her books and papers in 2014. A well-worn book Mother read to her...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 25, 2018 | blog, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, Memory, Quotations
Like the magnolias, petunias and daisies that bloom in Florida this time of year Shakespeare’s birthday pops up in my head, an annual occurrence, probably a carryover from teaching Macbeth, Hamlet, and King Lear. Like rosemary for remembrance, the date April 23 never...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 18, 2018 | blog, Coming of Age, Gratitude, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Uncategorized
Soon! Strawberries may not be ripe in your part of the world—yet! But they will come soon, Maybe in May or June. Sam Gamgee, Frodo Baggins’ sidekick, remembers the taste of strawberries: Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It’ll be spring soon. And the...