by MarianBeaman | Mar 11, 2015 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Gratitude, Memory, Quotations, Uncategorized
Recently Grandpa Cliff and NaNa Marian took the Beaman boys to the Odditorium (not a misspelling!) of Ripley’s Believe It or Not in St. Augustine Florida. The Saturday excursion was billed as a Mystery Trip, so the boys didn’t know exactly where they were going, but...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 14, 2015 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, popular culture, Quotations, Uncategorized
Actor Tom Hanks in the movie Forrest Gump tries to strike up a conversation with a tired nurse seated beside him on a park bench. Holding a box of chocolates in his hand, Forrest offers her a treat, “My mother always said, “Life is like a box of...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 7, 2015 | Education, Memory, Mennonite History, Uncategorized
My high school yearbook The Elizabethan sports such 3-syllable last names as Aschendorf, Biesecker, Espenshade, Hippensteel, Oxenrider, and Zimmerman. In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania any roster of names would be heavily represented by families of German-Swiss...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 31, 2015 | Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Quotations, Southern lady friends, Uncategorized
Do you have winter fun – sledding, tobogganing, ice skating, even skiing? Maybe now it’s a vicarious experience with kids or grandkids. I wrote about it last year in another post. Since then, I’ve paged through albums to find photos of our Floridian...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 14, 2015 | Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quilt, Uncategorized
A snapshot of a baby boy dressed as a girl and an old flash bulb. Those are some of the items we find clearing out Mother’s house. Last October my sisters and I began the arduous task of sorting, saving, or recycling the accumulated store of her possessions...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 10, 2015 | Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, neighborhood, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
Every single memory of snow in my childhood is pleasant. Sparkling flakes in luminous free-fall as I look out the kitchen window. Snow festooning evergreen boughs. Then bundling up in snowsuits, knitted caps, mittens. Getting out the sleds. After more than one...
