Magical Memoir Moments

If I Should Die Before I Wake: Why I Wrote A Mennonite Memoir

When I think of dying, I think of Henry David Thoreau who famously said that he went to the woods to avoid dying without living. He had a pessimistic assessment of how many other people managed to avoid that fate: The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. I’ve known my share of quiet…

Read More...

Connecting Through the Power of Love and Forgiveness: Two Mennonites at Breakfast

I invited Jim Smucker to breakfast at Mr. J’s Bagels, within walking distance of both our houses, this morning. I wanted to say thanks to him for agreeing to sponsor the Sweet and Sour food collection as a prize to the person who wins the 100 Day Challenge. Jim has recently moved to Virginia and…

Read More...

Sweet And Sour Food Prize: For the Lucky Winner

We are fast approaching the mid-way point of the 100 Day Challenge. Woot! Help! So much to do and so little time left. The good folks at Bird-in-Hand Restaurant have taken a picture of what they have in store for the winner of the 100 Day Challenge. They are offering this prize as a way…

Read More...

Kittens, Puppies, and Capons: A Motley Crew of Farm Animals

My brother Henry became the family photographer after he traded in the S & H Green Stamps for a 35 mm camera. Here are a few he took in the years 1965-70. We moved from black and white to color! He even took pictures of our 4-H Capons on their way to their new homes….

Read More...

A Rabbi's Call for Sabbath: Come Out to the Water

I don’t fish. But I enjoyed this piece from the NPR program Only a Game on Saturday. I won’t be checking in to see what you have to say about it until Monday. My New Beginning is once again to enjoy the sabbath. Here are the words of Rabbi Eric Eisenkramer: I see a deep…

Read More...

Pets From My Childhood: A Memoir in Pictures

One of the best parts of growing up on a farm is that people and animals interact in ways different from those in cities or suburbs. They can share space while maintaining freedom. Animals don’t have to live like humans in order to be enjoyed by and to enjoy humans. Not that that’s a bad…

Read More...

A Powerful Stimulant to Memoir: Crayola Memories Past and Future

A new box of Crayolas — is anything more beautiful? Those perfect points. The swoon-inducing fragrance! When I was a child, I craved the box of 64 I saw inside the desk of one of my first-grade friends. I loved the varied hues and the strange names: vermillion, burnt umber, magenta. I got one or…

Read More...

How to Turn Garden Guilt into Virtue In One Easy Lesson

The neighbors on either side of us have lovely gardens. We used to plant our own. For years, however, we have managed to avoid gardening. The soil here is rocky. We travel a lot. Can you tell I’m making excuses? Because other people labor in the soil, we often become the beneficiaries of their generosity….

Read More...

On Prayer: From the Starry Night of Childhood to the Morning Light of Now

Yesterday, July 9,2013, I wrote: I’m listening to Barber’s Adagio for Strings conducted by Leonard Bernstein as we fly above the clouds enroute from Phoenix to Houston on the way to the Shenandoah Valley airport via Dulles. It’s going to be a long day. However, I have dedicated this day in advance to a New…

Read More...

Living in a State of Grace: What I've Learned from Maya Angelou

When you read this, I will be in the air on my way home to Virginia. So this will be a very short post. I loved this interview with Maya Angelou posted by my author friend Carolyn Butts and posted on her blog several weeks ago. Here’s how it starts: Living In A State of…

Read More...