This time of year makes me think of gifts and what women are giving to the next generation. This year, 2017, has been an extremely tumultuous time. To use a kitchen and baking metaphor our cultural batter is being is being whipped up, over-beaten, into a flat mess that may have a difficult time […]
December Already
How can it be December already? It was carved pumpkins, then pumpkin pie, and now we are readying for Christmas trees, dreidels, and multi-color candles. December brings one of my favorite memories with it. When my daughter was little, no more than four, and attending nursery school, songs of the season were a big deal […]
Capture Legacy Stories This Holiday Season
The Holiday Season is Here I write this, reworking a post from two years ago, just before Thanksgiving. We are in the weekend for preparation before what we affectionately call Turkey Day in the U.S. I do not want to add to anyone’s stress levels, but beyond setting up your tech to record the Macy’s […]
Saved Seeds and Grandma's Egg Noodles
My grandmother saved seeds; my grand-daughters are served non-GMO food whenever possible. This one sentence, personal vignette is a story of five generations of women. It involves changes in farming, from truck gardens to agribusiness. It is a reflection of how women procure food for their families. Hints, implications, context, and reference are implicit nuance, […]
COLUMBUS, CHICKEN DNA AND MY DAD
The first version of this article was written and published on another of my blogs in 2013. 1915. The year seems worlds away from today. My Dad was born in a small farmhouse outside the burg of Colburn, Indiana on October 14, 1915 to Dorothy and Ellis, a young married couple. He was the first […]
His Birthday and the Long Death of My Brother
I am sad that I cannot make a chocolate upside down birthday cake for you. I am happy you are no longer in pain. I am still angry that I am alone and that you and my other brothers all abandoned me in this life. I am telling your story as best I can. It has been 49 years since you were blown up on your damn birthday.