by MarianBeaman | Feb 5, 2025 | blog, Literature, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Quotations, Tips
How well I remember the sensation of the twin rubber rollers on the wringer of Mom’s white enamel washing machine pressing down hard on my young flesh from hand to lower arm—my screams—then Mom’s quick thrust, disengaging my arm from the wringer. When I was...
by MarianBeaman | Nov 6, 2024 | blog, Coming of Age, Education, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
It’s disgraceful—displaying a perfectly good violin as an ornament, but there it is—on top of my piano propped on a small brass easel! The thing is, it’s not perfectly good: the G string is missing altogether, a black peg has broken off the neck,...
by MarianBeaman | Aug 22, 2024 | blog, book review, Family / Nostalgia, Nostalgia, Reflection, Travel, Uncategorized
I am pleased to be part of author Liz Gauffreau’s blog tour, Day 10. To date, I’ve read Distant Flickers to which Liz contributed a short story and reviewed two of her books, Grief Songs and now Simple Pleasures. Liz shows up regularly to comment on my blog posts....
by MarianBeaman | Aug 14, 2024 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Coming of Age, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, popular culture, Quotations, Uncategorized
The Earl It’s a fact! On August 6, 1762, the Fourth Earl of Sandwich asked for a meal between two slices of bread and thus, the sandwich was born. Legend has it that the Earl was a gambler so addicted to card-playing, he didn’t want to leave his card game to eat—thus...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 31, 2024 | blog, Cliff Beaman artist, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
A Heinz 57 bottle, a 1957 Chevy BelAir, and a Jewish fable provide multiple metaphors for marriage. The first two proclaim the magic number 57, the number of years we have been married. August 5, 1967–August 5, 2024 which equates to our anniversary milestone this...
by MarianBeaman | Jul 10, 2024 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Literature, meditation, Nostalgia, Quotations, Uncategorized
Behold, some miracles! SPEECH Skills learned in early childhood become more difficult to acquire later on, says the research. It seems simple to teach preschoolers any language they hear. In fact, they can learn it often without a trace of an accent. Why...