by MarianBeaman | Jun 20, 2015 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Lists, meditation, Memory, Mennonite Lore, Nostalgia, Reflection, Uncategorized
March 1986: Mom and Dad Longenecker visit the families of my sister Janice and me in Jacksonville, Florida. We all enjoy Epcot in Disney World, Dad’s chance to see a faux version of the Switzerland he never actually visited but planned to some day. My...
by MarianBeaman | May 27, 2015 | blog, book review, Conflict, Education, Literature, Quilt, Quotations, Reflection, Travel, Uncategorized
“Heidi, would you mind stopping by 329 East Bay Street before we leave town?” We were on our way out of Charleston during our recent road trip, and my niece Heidi graciously agreed to stop her SUV long enough for me to catch a snapshot of the Grimké House...
by MarianBeaman | May 23, 2015 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, meditation, Memory, Mennonite History, popular culture, Reflection, Uncategorized
Catchy caption needed. Your suggestions please! Just as every issue of The New Yorker features a cartoon in need of a caption, today’s post offers a photo calling for your input. There’s one below to get your wheels turning, but I think there are other...
by MarianBeaman | May 16, 2015 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Reflection, Travel, Uncategorized
We pile into Heidi’s shiny black Toyota 4Runner in Jacksonville and off we go, zooming across state lines, first Florida, then Georgia, and finally South Carolina, our voices twanging to Doo Wop tunes of the 50s and 60s: All Good Vibrations as miles melt away....
by MarianBeaman | May 12, 2015 | blog, Family / Nostalgia, Nostalgia, Reflection, Travel, Uncategorized
Girls’ road trips are part of the landscape of American pop culture. Who can forget Thelma and Louise? Wanting to take a short vacation from their dreary lives, Thelma (Geena Davis) and Louise (Susan Sarandon) head out from Arkansas to the Grand Canyon in a 1966 Ford...
by MarianBeaman | Apr 27, 2015 | Award, blog, Gratitude, Reflection, Uncategorized
Thank you notes are usually written privately, but this one is a public thank you to Carole Parkes, a writer friend who just recently nominated me for the Written Acts of Kindness Award, an award given from one blogger to another to let them know their words bring...