by MarianBeaman | Mar 5, 2014 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
Looking at indistinct footage from 16 millimeter home movies of the 1950s has invited me to examine from a distance the much younger, and in many ways different, version of myself. Not surprisingly, I appear in the “mothering” mode in many of the shots. I...
by MarianBeaman | Mar 1, 2014 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Neighborhood / Environment, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
The wild, permissive Rentzels with a red porch light live next door to our family, the Mennonite Longeneckers, one of several plain families that live on Anchor Road. In their parlor, the Rentzel’s old Emerson black & white TV has introduced me to the...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 22, 2014 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
Red hats, purple dresses, feather boas — all signatures of the Red Hat Society. There is even a Queen Mother, Sue Ellen Cooper of Orange County, California, who founded the Society in 1998 after she hosted a fancy tea party for ladies decked out in purple and...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 19, 2014 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
Yes, I have flunked my driver’s test—again. Is it the bullet-nosed, grey Studebaker I am learning to drive on, or is it just me? Anyway, the patrolman’s decision is final. I cannot drive alone. At least not yet. I have practiced driving with eight people stuffed into...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 15, 2014 | Coming of Age, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
“Your DNA has a story. It’s time to discover it,” invites an ad on the back cover of the February 10, 2014 issue of The New Yorker. “It’s easier than ever to discover your ethnic heritage – and possibly find new cousins along the way,” the advertisement...
by MarianBeaman | Feb 1, 2014 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
If I swallow a water-melon seed, my stomach might swell up. If I touch freckle-faced Ricky with the dirty fingernails, I might grow a baby. Oh no! Those were my childhood fears. With a limited sex education, I tried never to swallow watermelon seeds or touch grimy...
