by MarianBeaman | Feb 5, 2014 | Coming of Age, Literature, meditation, Uncategorized
Now you are probably thinking . . . age 72 is a long way off, or it’s just around the corner. Either way, it’s a question worth pondering. In 1700 the average life expectancy was 37. In fact, 40 would be pushing it. Yet, in that very year Mary Granville...
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...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 29, 2014 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Education, Family / Nostalgia, Uncategorized
Last Sunday afternoon, we took our red-haired grand-kids, the Daltons, to the Jacksonville Symphony Family Series, featuring The Sneetches. There was a pre-concert Orchestra Zoo with dozens of kids standing in lines to bang on, blow into, or saw the strings of...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 25, 2014 | Coming of Age, Conflict, Family / Nostalgia, Memory, Nostalgia, Uncategorized
Delight in Disorder A sweet disorder in the dress Kindles in clothes a wantonness. A lawn about the shoulders thrown Into a fine distraction; An erring lace, which here and there Enthralls the crimson stomacher; A cuff neglectful, and...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 22, 2014 | Family / Nostalgia, Mennonite Lore, Recipes, Reflection, Uncategorized
I have just finished reading The Dirty Life, On Farming, Food, and Love by Kristin Kimball. And today my blogger friend, Susan Nicholls, has posted a piece entitled “Canned” complete with appetizing photos of the canned goods, stored on shelves for savory eating on...
by MarianBeaman | Jan 21, 2014 | Conflict, Mennonite History, Mennonite Lore, Reflection, Uncategorized
On the eve of the Gulf War exactly 23 years ago today, I took a walk in the brisk evening air. As I rounded the curve of Emerald Isle Circle West in our neighborhood, I noticed the scarlet blush in the sky at sunset. With that striking image in mind and an imminent...
