tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15198108540429694502023-11-16T02:46:41.241-08:00Yesterday's Coffee, Tomorrow's MuseMy blog at The Livingston Post online website and The Fowlerville News Online website.SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-86679238877590804102016-08-30T05:12:00.001-07:002016-08-30T05:14:30.414-07:00Florida’s Bok Tower landmark enchants with beauty of music and secret gardens<br />
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<time datetime="2013-01-22T01:25:29+00:00">Published on 01/22/2013</time>
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by <a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/author/susangail/" rel="author">Susan Parcheta</a></span></time></span><span class="meta-author"> <a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/author/susangail/" rel="author"></a> </span><br />
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<i><b>Make you the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it. ~ Edward W. Bok</b></i><br />
Among the fragrant orange groves of Central Florida there’s a
wonderful high-rise spot where carillon music filters through serene
garden spaces; where visitors may wander among exquisite blooms, gaze
in reflecting pools at sky and trees, walk nature trails to the tune of
singing birds and bells — or simply sit in contemplation…‘<i>and fill their souls with the quiet, the repose, the influence of the beautiful.’</i><br />
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This quiet place, rising above the bustle of modern-day Central
Florida – the Bok Tower Gardens – is a national historic landmark. It’s a
250-acre sanctuary of pleasant gardens and signature 205-foot tower of
pink and gray Georgia marble and coquina shell stone which houses a
60-bell carillon. The Bok sanctuary and Pinewood Estate was dedicated in
1929 by President Calvin Coolidge.<br />
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<b>Known as the <i>Singing Tower</i>, this place held a magical spot in my memory</b>.
No, not because I’d been there; it was because I hadn’t been there. My
only thread of connection with the Bok Singing Tower was a distant, but
persistent memory — an image that would remain in my mind for decades –
an image on one of those antique style post cards.<br />
<br />
My grandparents wintered in the Bradenton area for many years. They’d
always send home enticing post cards with pictures of orange groves or
palm trees, or shells and ocean beaches or flamingos and cypress swamps.
Once they sent a postcard of <i>The Singing Tower</i>.<br />
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“What is a singing tower? I’d wonder. Well, I tucked the image into
my memory bank. “One day,” I vowed, “I’ll go visit this Singing Tower.”<br />
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<figure class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_24885" style="width: 288px;"><a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/floridas-bok-tower-landmark-enchants-with-beauty-of-music-and-secret-gardens/boktowerreflectingpool_img_1200_edited-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-24885"><img alt="Bok Tower Reflecting Pool" class="size-full wp-image-24885" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/BokTowerReflectingPool_IMG_1200_edited-1.jpg" height="386" width="288" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Bok Tower Reflecting Pool</figcaption></figure>
My family never traveled to Florida to visit my grandparents, like my
other cousins did. After all, there were five of us; and that would be a
major undertaking. One January, when I was in my teens, we finally
planned to go; but then a cousin, who was my age, died suddenly. So the
Florida trip died, too. Perhaps I wouldn’t have seen the Singing Tower;
but somehow it remained on the backburner of my mind.<br />
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Then, years later, when my in-laws moved to Florida, they settled on
the east coast side. So that’s where we always traveled. I probably
mentioned the Singing Tower, but if so, no one ever took me up on going
there. Last winter, however, it happened to work out that we’d be going
in that direction. I talked my husband into taking time to check out
this landmark at Lake Wales.<br />
<br />
<figure class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_24888" style="width: 432px;"><a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/floridas-bok-tower-landmark-enchants-with-beauty-of-music-and-secret-gardens/centralfloridamapaaabookimg_1138_edited-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-24888"><img alt="A great day trip in Central Florida is a visit to the Bok Tower Gardens at Lake Wales." class="size-full wp-image-24888" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/CentralFloridaMapAAABookIMG_1138_edited-1.jpg" height="323" width="432" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">A great day trip in Central Florida is a visit to the Bok Tower Gardens at Lake Wales.</figcaption></figure>
I knew somehow that I was supposed to go there last winter. Other
than experiencing what this Singing Tower and gardens was all about, I
felt that something bigger was drawing me there. While some tourists may
bypass this tower in their travels, or dismiss it as not so
spectacular, I felt compelled to check it out.<br />
<br />
While approaching the estate, with the tower top in view, we were
skeptical that such a beautiful place would exist up the pine scrubland
road. Soon, though, on this bright, sunny day we discovered the
enchanted oasis, located on the Lake Wales Ridge, the highest point
above sea level in the State of Florida.<br />
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Walking up to the entrance, I caught my breath as I gazed upward at
the Edward Bok motto written across the archway, the motto I placed at
the front of this blog: <i>Make you the world a bit better or more beautiful because you have lived in it. ~ Edward W. Bok</i><br />
<br />
<figure class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_24891" style="width: 288px;"><a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/floridas-bok-tower-landmark-enchants-with-beauty-of-music-and-secret-gardens/bokgardenentrance_mg_1150_edited-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-24891"><img alt="Entrance to Bok Tower Gardens" class="size-full wp-image-24891" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/BokGardenEntrance_MG_1150_edited-1.jpg" height="386" width="288" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Entrance to Bok Tower Gardens</figcaption></figure>
We spent an enjoyable afternoon walking the nature trails, listening
to the beautiful carillon music, breathing in the fragrance of flower
gardens bursting with color, soaking in the serenity of reflecting pool
and ponds, basking in the warmth of the sun, and dining <i>al fresco </i>at the Blue Palmetto Café. I ate lunch thinking about this unexpected discovery.<br />
<br />
<figure class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_24893" style="width: 432px;"><a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/floridas-bok-tower-landmark-enchants-with-beauty-of-music-and-secret-gardens/bokbluetilecourtyard_img_1154_edited-4/" rel="attachment wp-att-24893"><img alt="Beautiful Blue Tile Courtyard" class="size-full wp-image-24893" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/BokBlueTileCourtyard_IMG_1154_edited-4.jpg" height="310" width="432" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Beautiful Blue Tile Courtyard</figcaption></figure>
<b>Edward W. Bok’s theme of beauty caught my imagination</b>, as that
is my signature theme in my writing. Until that day, I’d been totally
unaware of Edward Bok, nor his lifelong emphasis on the beautiful. I
began to see how I’ve evolved in my personal mission for why I write. I
began to comprehend a little bit better, the intricacies of my personal
journey toward my theme of <i>all things beautiful.</i><br />
<br />
Interestingly, it’s amazing how your life themes can be set in
childhood; and it’s amazing, too, the subtle influences that can blossom
many years later. For Edward Bok, it was his grandmother’s words as she
bid him farewell on the family journey from the Netherlands to America.
At the tender age of six, I wondered, how can it be that his entire
life would be built around that theme of making the world a better and
more beautiful place?<br />
<br />
But then, looking back, I see the influence of my grandmothers – my
grandmother who sent me the post card, and my other grandmother who
cultivated her own secret gardens. Each had a personal sense of the
beautiful. One perhaps was in a more traditional, elegant sense; the
other enjoyed a homey Victorian cottage style. Somehow I adopted a
comfortable, eclectic mix of both in my outlook.<br />
<br />
But, I realize that it was my grandmothers who taught me to see the
beauty in every flower, as well as the beauty in the ordinary.<br />
<br />
<b>I became curious about this influential man, Edward Bok</b>, born
in the Netherlands in 1863, who came to America at age six. In the
wonderful museum on the premises, a plaque emphasizes: “These words of
Edward Bok’s grandmother to her grandson as he left for America, guided
him throughout his life. They were often in his thoughts, and were
central to the concept of this garden. Making the world a bit better or
more beautiful was consistent with his many other contributions to
American life.”<br />
<br />
<figure class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_24895" style="width: 432px;"><a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/floridas-bok-tower-landmark-enchants-with-beauty-of-music-and-secret-gardens/bokpinkflowerwalkway-_img_1177_edited-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-24895"><img alt="Lovely flowered walkways like this at Bok Tower Gardens" class="size-full wp-image-24895" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/BokPinkFlowerWalkway-_IMG_1177_edited-1.jpg" height="323" width="432" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Lovely flowered walkways like this at Bok Tower Gardens</figcaption></figure>
I’d also been unaware of Bok’s amazing career back in the early years of the 20<sup>th</sup>
Century, when he was editor of the Ladies Home Journal for 30 years,
back in my grandmothers’ time. As noted at the Bok Museum:<br />
<br />
“His work at the ‘Ladies Home Journal’ insured his need to have the
greatest writers and thinkers address issues that were of concern to his
readers. Additionally the breadth of his personal interests and
concerns, from world peace, community betterment and women’s rights,
caused him to correspond and meet with a broad range of individuals.”<br />
<br />
Among the notable figures were: Charles Darwin (scientist and
originator of the theory of evolution), Frederick Douglass (former slave
and leader of the abolitionist movement), Phineas T Barnum (19<sup>th</sup>
Century Showman and creator of Barnum and Bailey Circus), Robert
Browning (English writer), Rudyard Kipling (English writer), Jules Verne
(French author), Franklin D Roosevelt (President of the United States),
Frank Lloyd Wright (American architect).<br />
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Bok, who wintered in Florida before World War I, in 1921 purchased
land at Mountain Lake, with its panoramic view from the top of Iron
Mountain. At the Garden of Serenity are these words: “It was here that
Bok decided to create a place of quiet repose, like the island home of
his Dutch grandparents, where plants and birds would flourish, and
people could be close to Nature.”<br />
<br />
<figure class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_24896" style="width: 432px;"><a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/floridas-bok-tower-landmark-enchants-with-beauty-of-music-and-secret-gardens/bokreflectinggarden_img_1188_edited-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-24896"><img alt="View out over wildlife pond" class="size-full wp-image-24896" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/BokReflectingGarden_IMG_1188_edited-2.jpg" height="284" width="432" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">View out over wildlife pond</figcaption></figure>
Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr helped ‘to transform the pine scrub site into a verdant garden,’ with the <i>Singing Tower</i> soon to follow.<br />
<br />
Bok’s desire to create this magnificent refuge, for the public to
enjoy, came from his passionate desire to leave a legacy of beauty for
the world… <i>a spot that would reach out in beauty to the people, and
fill their souls with the quiet, the repose, the influence of the
beautiful.</i><br />
<br />
I left Bok Tower Gardens happy to have finally visited the mystical <i>Singing Tower</i>
beckoning me from that antique postcard of my childhood dreams. Decades
later it was fun to discover that Bok’s dream a century ago, matched
my own dream of today.<br />
<br />
May we all take part in passing along this dream, to make the world a better, more beautiful place, by our having lived in it.<br />
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<figure class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_24898" style="width: 432px;"><a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/floridas-bok-tower-landmark-enchants-with-beauty-of-music-and-secret-gardens/boktowerviewhorizon_mg_1212_edited-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-24898"><img alt="Visitors enjoy tower grounds overlooking Lake Wales surrounding area below" class="size-full wp-image-24898" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/BokTowerViewHorizon_MG_1212_edited-1.jpg" height="323" width="432" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Visitors enjoy tower grounds<br />overlooking Lake Wales surrounding area in distance</figcaption></figure>
<b>Bok Tower Garden Links:</b><br />
<a href="http://boktowergardens.org/the-gardens">Bok Tower Gardens website</a><br />
<a href="http://www.ridgescenichighway.com/Attractions.php">Ridge Scenic Highway Attractions</a><br />
<a href="http://www.visitfloridaonline.com/bok_sanctuary.htm">Visit Florida Online – Bok Sanctuary</a><br />
<a href="http://boktowergardens.org/calendar/great-garden-speaker-series/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Great+Garden+Speaker+Series+mem++gen&utm_content=Great+Garden+Speaker+Series+mem++gen+CID_484166107785f9a588c58e5f0cbe4de8&utm_source=Email%20Marketing&utm_term=">Bok Tower Gardens Calendar for Garden Speaker Series</a><br />
<a href="http://goflorida.about.com/od/attractionsaz/a/boktower.htm">Bok Tower info Go Florida at About.com</a><br />
<a href="http://boktowergardens.org/calendar/founders-day-weekend/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Founders+Day+Weekend+mem++gen&utm_content=Founders+Day+Weekend+mem++gen+CID_b09f30d0301cdd83d1951776fc22ca24&utm_source=Email%20Marketing&utm_term=Founders%20Day%20Weekend">Bok Tower Gardens Founders Day Weekend</a><br />
<b>Link below for spring blooming highlights and events:</b><br />
<a href="http://boktowergardens.org/celebrating-spring-peak-bloom-at-bok-tower-gardens/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Peak+Bloom+Weekends+of+Fun+mem++gen&utm_content=Peak+Bloom+Weekends+of+Fun+mem++gen+CID_51c8b6fb0eec6afedf5853a2328352a9&utm_source=Email%20Marketing&utm_term=spring%20peak%20bloom%20season">Celebrating Spring Peak Bloom Season at Bok Tower Gardens</a>SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-19760600018893318712016-08-30T04:20:00.001-07:002016-08-30T04:46:41.929-07:00Do you hear the people sing? Go tell it on the mountain!<br />
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<time datetime="2013-01-01T01:12:57+00:00">Published on 01/01/2013</time>
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by <a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/author/susangail/" rel="author">Susan Parcheta </a> </span>
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<b><i>Gratitude flows from the recognition that who we are and what we have are gifts to be received and shared.” — Henri J.M. Nouwen</i></b><br />
<br />
<i>Do you hear what I hear? </i>Carols of Christmas ringing into the New Year…<br />
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<i>A song, a song, high above the tree, with a voice as big as the sea. Go tell it on the mountain….over the hills and everywhere.</i><br />
<br />
A new song resonates carol-like with me during this Twelve Days of
Christmas, while gliding into the New Year toward the celebration of
Epiphany:<br />
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<i><b>Do you hear the people sing</b>, singing the song of
angry men. It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again.
When the beating of your heart echoes the beating of the drums, there is
a life about to start when tomorrow comes. </i><br />
<br />
The days from Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, and the
twelve days of Christmas are a naturally reflective time. Always the
spirit of solstice is to usher in the light, making our own spirits
brighter with ever longer daylight.<br />
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<figure class="wp-caption alignright" id="attachment_24765" style="width: 432px;"><a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/do-you-hear-the-people-sing-go-tell-it-on-the-mountain/img_6430_1/" rel="attachment wp-att-24765"><img alt="Moon of wintertime, ushering in the New Year" class="size-full wp-image-24765" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/IMG_6430_1.jpg" height="323" width="432" /></a><figcaption class="wp-caption-text">Moon of wintertime, ushering in the New Year</figcaption></figure>
And, always this time casts its magic for me, as I imagine wonderful
possibilities, in anticipation of the New Year. It’s a time of
transformation. With each calendar day comes renewed hope for peace to
break out across the planet. On Christmas Day we pray for peace for
people everywhere…to see the star, to dance joyfully with the winter
aurora, to find goodness and light in their dreams.<br />
<br />
<br />
Christmas Day 2012 held its own magic. It was the first time my
siblings and spouses had no other familial obligations. While we had a
large family gathering planned the weekend after, on Christmas Day we
discovered we were free – all but one brother who was flying in that
day. We’d meet when he arrived.<br />
<br />
The much anticipated movie, <b><i>Les Misérables</i>,</b>was opening
in theaters Christmas Day. We decided it would be fun to spend the
afternoon together while waiting, experiencing some sibling togetherness
and this amazing film.<br />
<br />
Director Tom Hooper [<i>The King’s Speech] </i>set out to create a big screen version of the beloved musical <i>Les Misérables, </i>which told <i> Victor Hugo’s</i> tragic 19<sup>th</sup> Century French tale of redemption of prisoner Jean Valjean.<br />
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The entire movie is sung, and sung as performed, with no adlibbing.
We knew that; some of us liked and some didn’t so much. I loved it. I
loved the telling of this epic story – on screen—with the emotional
power of authentic song. The drumbeat of the of the music reverberated
in my heart long after leaving the theater; and it’s echoing still.<br />
<br />
I’m sure many will view the film through their particular religious or political lens. But here’s my perspective.<br />
<br />
With all the cultural upheavals in 2012, and with the drama of the
Mayan calendar shifting — much like a Y2K scenario (already 12 years
ago?) – I kept thinking about the positive impact this film could have,
coming out now.<br />
<br />
While on the edge of a transformational time in civilization,
perhaps, we’ve also find ourselves discussing the precarious precipice
of a fiscal cliff. Would we survive being on the brink on New Year’s
Eve? Would decision be made, simply creating another cliff, and
another? To my mind, we’re on the brink of disasters or solutions in
many areas.<br />
<br />
Marianne Williamson, author of <i>A Return to Love, </i>shared this sentiment in a Facebook posting:<br />
<i> In the United States today, we act as though we have many
different problems….health care, the economy, terrorism, drug addiction,
education and so forth. But in reality, they’re all expressions of a
common underlying problem; a disconnect from our hearts, a loss of a
natural connection to the universe. A nation is more than just separate
groups of constituencies strung together for geographical or political
benefit; a nation is a unified matrix of humanity, a panoply of
different ethnicities bonded together by fealty to principles of
liberty, justice and brotherhood. In a way, America is deciding right
now whether we really want to BE a nation. We’ve sold our national soul,
and it’s time to take it back.</i><br />
<br />
<b><i>Les Misérables, </i>and <i>Lincoln, </i>as well, are pertinent films to our times</b>, much like the favorite Christmas classic<b><i>, It’s a Wonderful Life</i></b><i>. </i>Countless media folks wonder: Are we going to be <b>Bedford Falls or Potterville. </b><br />
<br />
In my lifetime, I can’t recall encountering so much polarity in
politics, or religion, or just about anything else. How ironic. Perhaps
the Apocalypse is us.<br />
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For me, George Bailey and Jean Valjean discovered — through their
trials — the one thing that saved their souls — the transformative power
of love, the transformative power of gratitude.<br />
<br />
Who can forget George Bailey running through the streets of Bedford
Falls in the snow, shouting out his new found thankfulness for the
wonder of family, friends and community? Appreciation can soften the
Mr. Potter mindset in all of us.<br />
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<b>“The practice of gratitude,” writes author Angeles Arrien in her book <i>Living in Gratitude</i></b><i>, </i>“bestows
many benefits. Anger, arrogance, jealousy melt in its embrace. Fear and
defensiveness dissolve. Gratitude diminishes barriers to love and
evokes happiness, keeping alive what has meaning for us.”<br />
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You can feel this theme rippling through the lyrics of <i>Les Misérables</i>. It’s wonderful to be reminded in such an epic format – the movies.<br />
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We each face our own Apocalypse, I believe, until we awaken to
discover this power within us. We come to the point where we realize
that we can go over our personal cliff – and survive. It is an
Epiphany, to be sure, that each of us arrives at in our own way, our own
time. We discover that, like Jean Valjean, we can seek and find — the
light in the twilight of a winter moon, the sun of invincible summer
coming once again to shine in our hearts.<br />
<br />
<b><i>There is a life about to start when tomorrow comes</i>. </b>When
we create the blueprint for our new year, our resolutions, we can give
thanks for the seasons of memories we’ve lived and for possibilities yet
to come. We can aspire to allow gratitude to wrap our hearts in joy
each day, in a new way, all year.<br />
We can, if we so desire, allow the spirit of Christmas to sparkle naturally. As Danish theologian Sören Kirkegaard wrote: <i>What wine is so sparkling, so fragrant, so intoxicating, as possibility?</i><br />
When we gaze into the looking glass, or the wine glass, what possibilities will we see at the New Year, and beyond?<br />
<br />
There may be snow advisories outside, but inside our hearth, heart
and home we can be at peace. We can share that peace. We can be our own
aurora dancing, authentically <i>being </i>who we are meant to be.<br />
Then we will hear the song; and it will be ours. We can tell it on
the mountain, echoing high above the trees. With gratitude flowing in
our hearts, we can sing the music of the people as each new tomorrow
comes.<br />
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<b>Links</b><br />
<b><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Les_Mis%C3%A9rables_%28musical%29">Les Misérables</a>, the musical, the movie</i></b><br />
<b><i>New York Times: <a href="http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/12/25/movies/les-miserables-stars-anne-hathaway-and-hugh-jackman.html?_r=0">The Wretched Lift Their Voices</a></i></b><br />
<b><i>Christmas Carol<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_You_Hear_What_I_Hear%3F">: Do You Hear What I Hear?</a></i></b><br />
<b><i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas">The Twelve Days of Christmas</a></i></b><br />
<b><i>America: The National Catholic Review — <a href="http://americamagazine.org/issue/man-me">Rev. Charles Klamut’s blog : “That Man is Me”</a> — about his life changing experience with a fictional French bishop</i></b><br />
<i> <b>The Deacon’s Bench: <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2012/12/a-feminist-who-is-miserable-about-les-miserables/">Deacon Greg Kandra’s blog discusses a feminist view about the women of Les Miserables</a> and in another blog Deacon Kandra focus on <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/deaconsbench/2012/12/6-things-that-struck-me-about-les-miserables/">6 things that struck him about the movie. </a></b></i><br />
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SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-70843286787407627842016-02-13T19:14:00.002-08:002016-08-30T04:57:44.009-07:00'Writer’s pen’ works magic, creating unique bond for grandfather/ granddaughter author duoThere’s always a bit of magic in <i>the writer’s pen</i>. Michigan
mystery writer Rich Baldwin discovered it long ago, when he began
writing his series of mystery novels, starring the amiable detective Lou
Searing, who also happens to be Baldwin’s alter ego.<br />
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/the-writers-pen-works-its-magic-creating-unique-bond-for-grandfathergranddaughter-author-duo/rich_bladwin_nov_2012_st_mary_img_5871_edited-2/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/the-writers-pen-works-its-magic-creating-unique-bond-for-grandfathergranddaughter-author-duo/rich_bladwin_nov_2012_st_mary_img_5871_edited-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-24609"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-24609" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Rich_Bladwin_Nov_2012_St_Mary_IMG_5871_edited-2.jpg" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Rich_Bladwin_Nov_2012_St_Mary_IMG_5871_edited-2.jpg" height="288" width="176" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd">Author
Rich Baldwin with granddaughter Hannah Hoffmeister's novel, Ava. The
poster is book cover for Rich's latest mystery, Murder at the Cherry
Festival</dd></dl>
</div>
Now 13 novels later, and just as many years, the magic of <i>the writer’s pen</i> seem to have sparked a love of writing and a similar novel quest in his granddaughter, Hannah Hoffmeister.<br />
<br />
The
magic, in this case, is that Hannah’s novel series depicts the fantasy
world of 13-year-old Ava Popolis. Magical, too, is the fact that
Hannah’s first novel in the Dream Ring Series was published when she was
just 13 years old.<br />
<br />
ies) begins on the heroine’s 13<sup>th</sup>
birthday, when she learns that her mom is a witch. As quickly as Ava
celebrates turning 13, her world just as quickly turns upside down.
Ava’s mom informs her that she and best friend, Victoria, are both
witches. The two young teenagers must now go away to school on the far
off planet Neptune.<br />
<br />
Along come many adventures at the school for
aspiring witches, including encounters with Widdiworm, an evil sorcerer.
In Book One, Ava describes the fantastic tale of her first year at this
other-worldly school.<br />
<br />
Book Two, <i>Widdiworm</i>, finds Ava and
Victoria back in school for their second year, facing more challenge
and adventure due to the sorcerer Widdiworm. In Book Three in the
series, <i>Victoria, </i>Ava’s challenge is to find Victoria, who is
gone, and get her back. Training at the Battle School for Advanced
Witches and Wizards, Ava comes up with a dangerous plan to rescue her
best friend.<br />
The writer’s bond between Rich Baldwin and Hannah Hoffmeister is evident, when Hannah notes in her acknowledgements for <i>Ava, </i>“Thank you Grandpa Baldwin, who has never left my side in my development as an author.”<br />
<br />
If magic can ride moonbeams, then both grandfather and granddaughter are riding high. Hannah recently won second place in the <a data-mce-href="http://www.moonbeamawards.com/2012_Moonbeam_Results1.pdf" href="http://www.moonbeamawards.com/2012_Moonbeam_Results1.pdf">Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards</a> in the category of Years <i>Best Book Written by Someone Under 18 Years of Age. </i><br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
The <a data-mce-href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/" href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/">Buttonwood Press</a>
publisher shouts it out on his website: “Hannah is 14 now, but Ava came
out when she was just 13!!! Wow!!! – this is awesome and the
competition was national. Please join me in a standing ovation!!!”<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/the-writers-pen-works-its-magic-creating-unique-bond-for-grandfathergranddaughter-author-duo/ava-cover-resized-for-homepage3/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/the-writers-pen-works-its-magic-creating-unique-bond-for-grandfathergranddaughter-author-duo/ava-cover-resized-for-homepage3/" rel="attachment wp-att-24616"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-24616" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/AVA-Cover-resized-for-homepage3.jpg" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/AVA-Cover-resized-for-homepage3.jpg" height="300" width="200" /></a><br />
<br />
As
for granddaughter Hannah, the teenager (now a high school freshman in
her home state of Missouri) enjoys book signings and speaking
engagements with students. In an interview with her local online news, <i>Call Newspapers, </i>Hanna
tells reporter Kari Williams, “"It's been a really neat experience
because all sorts of stuff has come out of it that you would never have
thought would ... and to look at all these kids with a book like this,
I'm like, 'You're reading what I imagine,' and it's so weird. It's been
cool."<br />
<br />
Besides writing, Hannah spends her time reading, gardening,
hanging out with friends, playing softball and keeping up with her
favorite baseball team, the St. Louis Cardinals.<br />
<br />
At the pace of
this young writer’s pen, Hannah will soon catch up with her Grandpa
Baldwin, who now enjoys promoting her work, as well as that of <a data-mce-href="http://www.nationalparkmysteries.com/" href="http://www.nationalparkmysteries.com/"><b>Buttonwood Press author Mary Morgan</b></a>. Mary also writes mysteries. Her series are written for young children, and are set in various national parks.<br />
Morgan’s current book is <i>Stolen Treasures at Pictured Rocks, </i>a national park on the shores of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Her second National Park's Series mystery is <i>The Face at Mount Rushmore</i>.<br />
<br />
Morgan--
married to a pastor – is a church secretary, who also writes
devotionals, inspirational stories, and Christmas plays. Her passion,
however, is writing mysteries for children, ages 8-11.<br />
<i>Stolen Treasures at Pictured Rocks</i>
was selected as one of the Lansing School District’s Michigan author
books for Reading Month in March. Morgan has spoken about this book in
10 schools to 2,000 students in Lansing and Grand Ledge.<br />
<br />
The story
is about twins Ben and Bekka Cooper and friend Eli, who encounter
thieves planning to steal artifacts from sunken ships, turning their
vacation into much more of an adventure than an ordinary camping trip.<br />
<br />
Now available in its second printing , <i>Stolen Treasures </i>sold
1,500 copies in 9 months. You may find it in stores throughout
Michigan, including at four visitor centers in Pictured Rocks National
Park.<br />
<b>Rich’s current book for 2012 is: <i>Murder at the Cherry Festival: It’s the Pits. </i></b> The
mystery revolves around the murder of Tom McNutt, wealthy owner of
Northernmost Winery on the Old Mission Peninsula, north of Traverse
City, MI. McNutt, Grand Marshal of the Cherry Fesitval Parade, is shot
in the parade set-up area. The police invite detectives Lou Searing and
Jack Kelly to investigate.<br />
<br />
Rich dedicates his Cherry Festival book (his 13<sup>th</sup> mystery) to Hannah:<br />
<br />
“Hannah
is my eldest granddaughter, who at a young age decided to write novels.
By the time she was 14, she had written five books in her Dream Ring
Series…. Where her writing career will lead is anyone’s guess, but for
sure, she is a very talented young woman… Her maternal grandparents,
Nana and myself, are extremely proud of her talent and professionalism,
and we commend her for reaching goals most people her age can’t
imagine.”<br />
<br />
The art of storytelling probably comes naturally for
Hannah, but Rich recalls a conversation the two of them had when Hannah
was age four. He remembers how much fun they were having playing
make-believe, fantasizing about having their own bookstore, that would
always be open.<br />
As Rich puts it, you never know where your dreams
will take you. With the imagination of the writer’s pen, he’s passed
this love of storytelling on to granddaughter, Hannah, who signs her
books: <i>Follow your dreams!</i><br />
<br />
<b>Grandfather Baldwin writes under the name Richard L. Baldwin</b>. He is also a public speaker, addressing groups on the topic of <i>How to Self Publish Your Own Book</i>.
Before becoming a published author, Baldwin enjoyed a long and exciting
career in special education. He served as a teacher, college professor
and spent 20 years at the Michigan Department of Education, where he
was a consultant, supervisor and State Director of Special Education
from 1990-97.<br />
<br />
T<b>he story of Rich Baldwin’s career may be found in my previous Livingston Post blogs:</b><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/mystery-writer-rich-baldwin-finds-joy-in-telling-a-story-a-good-detective-story/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/mystery-writer-rich-baldwin-finds-joy-in-telling-a-story-a-good-detective-story/">Mystery writer Rich Baldwin finds joy in telling a story – a good detective story.</a><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/tut-tut-murder-in-ice-he-wrote/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/tut-tut-murder-in-ice-he-wrote/">TUT, TUT: Murder (In Ice), He Wrote</a><br />
<br />
<i><b>Writer’s Pen</b></i><b> Notes – aka Rich Baldwin:</b><br />
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/the-writers-pen-works-its-magic-creating-unique-bond-for-grandfathergranddaughter-author-duo/rich_baldwin_books_2012_img_5869_edited-2/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/the-writers-pen-works-its-magic-creating-unique-bond-for-grandfathergranddaughter-author-duo/rich_baldwin_books_2012_img_5869_edited-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-24612"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-24612" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Rich_Baldwin_Books_2012_IMG_5869_edited-2.jpg" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Rich_Baldwin_Books_2012_IMG_5869_edited-2.jpg" height="146" width="288" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd">Rich enjoys traveling with Buttonwood Press books to various craft shows in Michigan</dd></dl>
</div>
Rich’s murder mystery books are now in the <i><b><a data-mce-href="http://lansingbooktrader.com/" href="http://lansingbooktrader.com/" target="_blank">Book Trader Bookstore</a></b></i> in
Lansing, Michigan. “Owner J.P. Johnson gave me a rack for all 13 books,
right by the door! J.P. operates a used book store but is welcoming me
in on a trial basis to see if we can sell some novels. If you live in
the greater Lansing area and need a book for a gift or personal reading
please stop in at the Book Trader and give J.P. the business - well you
know what I mean! Oh, the store is located in a small strip mall at the
corner of St. Joe and Waverly Roads - 635 S Waverly.”<br />
<br />
“Many of you are asking, ‘What's Next?’ I am working on <i>two</i> books at the moment. The first is ‘<b><i>Death in the Choir Loft</i></b><i>.</i> The second is a story that involves the MSU and U of M football rivalry. I don't have a title for this one yet - how about <b><i>Murder in the Big House</i></b><i>? </i>One or the other will be out at the usual spring release time.”<br />
<br />
Buttonwood
Press books on Kindle: With the help of Mark Vorenkamp, Buttonwood
Press has seven books available via Kindle or Nook. “I have 5 books and
Hannah Hoffmeister (<i>The Dream Ring Series</i>) has her books (<i>Ava</i> and <i>Widdidorm)</i> in our e-book offerings.” More are on the way.<br />
<br />
Possible
movie in the works: Baldwin noted recently, “I visited with the owner
of Brandella Films about a future film based on my book -- <i>Final Crossing: Murder on the S.S. Badger</i>.
The visit was positive and it just may happen, but a lot of bridges
need to be crossed before this becomes a real flick. Stay tuned!!”<br />
<br />
<b><i>The Writer’s Pen</i> Links :</b><br />
<b>Rich’s corner:</b><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/?x=16&y=8&s=Rich+Baldwin" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/?x=16&y=8&s=Rich+Baldwin">Susan Parcheta’s Livingston Post blogs about author Richard L. Baldwin</a><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/" href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/"><b>Buttonwood Press</b></a><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/buttonwood-authors#!__buttonwood-authors" href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/buttonwood-authors#%21__buttonwood-authors">Authors at Buttonwood Press</a><br />
<b>Hannah’s Corner:</b><br />
<b><a data-mce-href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/buttonwood-authors#!__buttonwood-authors/hannah" href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/buttonwood-authors#%21__buttonwood-authors/hannah">Buttonwood Press author Hanna Hoffmeister</a></b><br />
<b><a data-mce-href="http://dreamringseries.com/" href="http://dreamringseries.com/">The DreamRing Series site:</a></b><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.callnewspapers.com/Articles-Our-Town-i-2012-09-26-262843.112112-Young-author-pens-series-of-five-books-before-14th-birthday.html" href="http://www.callnewspapers.com/Articles-Our-Town-i-2012-09-26-262843.112112-Young-author-pens-series-of-five-books-before-14th-birthday.html">Interview with author Hannah Hoffmeister at Call Newspapers</a><br />
Hannah’s book signing for <a data-mce-href="http://www.the-teachers-lounge.com/archives/2011/12/" href="http://www.the-teachers-lounge.com/archives/2011/12/">Ava highlighted in Missouri <i>The Teachers Lounge</i></a>online parent/teacher store<br />
<br />
<br />
(Pub Dec 12, 2012 in The Livingston Post)SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-5816688503680315462016-02-13T18:45:00.001-08:002016-02-13T18:45:50.906-08:00Echoes of Appalachia: MSU Artist in Residence Elizabeth LaPrelle brings music of the mountains to Michigan <br />
The gales of November may be whistling winter tunes in your ear, but there’s a perfect antidote.<br />
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/echoes-of-appalachia-msu-artist-in-residence-elizabeth-laprelle-brings-music-of-the-mountains-to-michigan/elizabeth-laprelle2-cr-mike-melnyk-300x199/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/echoes-of-appalachia-msu-artist-in-residence-elizabeth-laprelle-brings-music-of-the-mountains-to-michigan/elizabeth-laprelle2-cr-mike-melnyk-300x199/" rel="attachment wp-att-24266"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-24266" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Elizabeth-LaPrelle2-CR-Mike-Melnyk-300x199.jpg" height="199" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Elizabeth-LaPrelle2-CR-Mike-Melnyk-300x199.jpg" width="300" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd">Elizabeth LaPrelle (photo by Mike Melnyk)</dd></dl>
</div>
Riding
on the winds of Appalachia, the sweet sounds of Elizabeth LaPrelle’s
mountain music -- ballads of the Blue Ridge -- are floating through the
breeze in East Lansing, Michigan this week.<br />
As artist in residence
Nov. 12-18 at Michigan State University Residential College in the Arts
and Humanities, the young singer will perform at several venues,
including:<br />
At <strong>3 p.m. on Wednesday, November 14</strong>, <strong><a data-mce-href="http://rcah.msu.edu/news-events/events/conversation-elizabeth-laprelle" href="http://rcah.msu.edu/news-events/events/conversation-elizabeth-laprelle">A Conversation with Elizabeth LaPrelle</a> </strong>in <strong>C303 Snyder-Phillips Hall</strong>:<br />
“LaPrelle
will give an afternoon talk about Crankies, or scrolls that she hand
makes with her friend, Anna Roberts-Gevalt. They sew, papercut, or print
the scrolls with illustrations of stories and ballads. When a crank is
turned as you sing or speak, the pictures advance with the narrative.
LaPrelle will talk about the process of making Crankies, how the visuals
aid in storytelling, and answer questions.”<br />
At <strong>7 p.m. on Wednesday, November 14</strong>, Elizabeth LaPrelle will perform in the RCAH Theater for The Center for Poetry Fall Series.<br />
<strong><em>Double your pleasure, when Elizabeth will be joined by her mom, Sandy LaPrelle, at two weekend concerts. </em></strong><br />
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/echoes-of-appalachia-msu-artist-in-residence-elizabeth-laprelle-brings-music-of-the-mountains-to-michigan/elizabethandsandylaprelleimages-2/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/echoes-of-appalachia-msu-artist-in-residence-elizabeth-laprelle-brings-music-of-the-mountains-to-michigan/elizabethandsandylaprelleimages-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-24263"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-24263" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ElizabethandSandyLaPrelleimages.jpg" height="76" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ElizabethandSandyLaPrelleimages.jpg" width="160" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd">Sandy and Elizabeth LaPrelle</dd></dl>
</div>
At <strong>Noon Friday, November 16 </strong>a concert (Free) in the showroom at Elderly Instruments , 1100 North Washington, Lansing, MI<br />
On 7 p.m on <strong>Saturday, Nov. 17 </strong>at the Hannah Community Center at 819 Abbot Rd. in East Lansing (suggested donation $10, $5/students) for an <strong><em>Evening of Appalachian Music and Poetry, </em></strong><em>a benefit concert.</em><br />
On Sunday Nov. 18 - Elizabeth will conduct <strong>"A Musical Workshop"</strong> from 2-4 in room C-204 at Snyder Hall on the MSU campus.<br />
It’s
a rare opportunity to hear authentic mountain music, sung as it was a
hundred years ago, with many familiar folk songs that have stood the
test of time.<br />
Here’s a blog I wrote after meeting Elizabeth and
Sandy LaPrelle in 2008. The duo enjoy coming up to Michigan for the
summertime Great Lakes Folk Festivals, held in East Lansing.<br />
<br />
<strong>Songs of Appalachia: Elizabeth LaPrelle and the Crooked Road Revue bring mountain ballads to the Great Lakes Folk Festival</strong><br />
<em>By Susan Parcheta (for MichiganCountry.com 2008 and livingstontalk.com, now archived at thelivingstonpost.com)</em><br />
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/echoes-of-appalachia-msu-artist-in-residence-elizabeth-laprelle-brings-music-of-the-mountains-to-michigan/elizabethlaprelle-images-2/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/echoes-of-appalachia-msu-artist-in-residence-elizabeth-laprelle-brings-music-of-the-mountains-to-michigan/elizabethlaprelle-images-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-24262"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-24262" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ElizabethLaPrelle-images.jpg" height="143" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/ElizabethLaPrelle-images.jpg" width="201" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd">Elizabeth LaPrelle sings ballads of The Blue Ridge</dd></dl>
</div>
<em><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/great-lakes-folk-festival-brings-you-elizabeth-laprelle-and-her-sweet-songs-from-the-blue-ridge/elizabethlaprelle-images/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/great-lakes-folk-festival-brings-you-elizabeth-laprelle-and-her-sweet-songs-from-the-blue-ridge/elizabethlaprelle-images/" rel="attachment wp-att-10726"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-10726" /></a></em><br />
Imagine
a pleasant summertime journey…walking winding crooked roads,
exploring the nooks and crannies of the glorious Blue Ridge Mountains of
southwestern Virginia.<br />
Think of music in the air…music that travelers of the beautiful crooked roads might be singing. Songs like: <em>Fly Around My Blue-Eyed Gal</em><em> </em>or <em>Over the River Charlie .</em><em> </em>Or maybe join in on a favorite childhood lullaby,<em> </em><em>Whole Heap A Little Horses,</em><em> </em>as you stroll along … or <em>Sweet Roseanne.</em><em> </em>Then pick up the pace a bit with <em>Sail Away Ladies, Sail Away.</em><br />
Think Appalachian mountain tunes…authentic to the sonorous voices of a hundred years ago.<br />
Wind
down that lovely road with Elizabeth LaPrelle and the Crooked Road
Revue, one of a select number of groups being highlighted at the East
Lansing, Michigan Great Lakes Folk Festival this weekend August 8-10.<br />
Enjoy
foot stompin’… banjo strummin’ … acapella singin’ in the traditional
mountain way…the way the songs were sung in old-time mountain style. The
Crooked Road Revue spans the generations, from 61-year old guitarist
Wayne Henderson to 20-year-old LaPrelle.<br />
As Henderson told Mike
Hughes of the Lansing State Journal, “For a young person to sing those
old songs so beautifully is really surprising.”<br />
Old-time ballad singer Sheila Kay Adams says, <em>“Anyone can learn the old ballads.</em><em> </em>There are numerous collections in libraries and books that are available on-line.”<br />
“But,”
she comments, in describing LaPrelle’s enchanting touch to the music,
“Elizabeth is interested in the feel, the sound, the ornamentation of
these songs. She is, in my opinion, one of maybe a handful of young
singers able to capture the rhythm, the intensity, the breaks and sighs,
that make this style of singing authentic.”<br />
“The only problem I
have while listening to Elizabeth,” she adds, “is that I’m always
listening through tears. She reminds me so much of my older relatives –
the same profound feeling for the ballad, yet with such a clear voice.”<br />
Say’s
Elizabeth , “I grew up surrounded with all kinds of music. We had lots
of singing around the house, children’s songs, folk songs, ballads,
popular songs, silly songs that we made up, anything that we wanted to
do. My mother came from a musical family and was a little more serious
about her singing. She loved singing with us, but she also performed
with concert choruses and traditional groups.”<br />
Elizabeth’s mom,
Sandy, sometimes accompanies her daughter in concert. And, often, she’ll
find herself being called up on the stage…like the time Elizabeth sang
with Garrison Keeler when Prairie Home Companion radio show did a show
in Virginia.<br />
Elizabeth and Sandy carry on the legacy of the
authentic mountain tunes. “At the time they were recorded,” Elizabeth
explains, “most folks singing the old songs in the traditional way were
very old, and the voices that could reputedly sing to be heard from
ridge to ridge had lost some of their power. I try to sing ballads the
way these folks and their ancestors might have sung when they were my
age. I also try to sing with the emotion that I feel when I listen to
the stories and poetry in the songs.”<br />
“Right now I am balancing my
performance schedule and my classes at the College of William and
Mary,” she says. She manages a few concerts and appearances throughout
the year.<br />
Last year she traveled on the West coast tour with the
Crooked Road Revue. This assembly of artists, organized by the National
Council for the Traditional Arts, represents musicians from the real
Crooked Road…a stretch of US Highway 58 winding 200 miles through the
mountains and valleys of LaPrelle’s home corner of Southwest Virginia.<br />
In
any case, there’s magic in the air there…musical magic from down the
generations of rural Appalachia. Elizabeth LaPrelle captures that
tuneful mountain magic, now available on her CDs <em>Rain and Snow</em><em> </em>and <em>Lizard in the Spring.</em><br />
Listen awhile, and you’ll find yourself whooping it up along with her, as she trips along with finger shappin’ <em>Liza Up a Simmon Tree:</em> You know, the one that goes….<br />
<em>Whoopty Liza pretty little gal.</em><em><br /> </em><em>Whoopty Liza Jane.</em> <em><br /> </em><em>Whoopty Liza pretty little gal</em><em><br /> </em><em>A’ridin’ on that train.</em><br />
<strong>Links:</strong><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.old97wrecords.com/elizabeth-laprelle/listen.htm" href="http://www.old97wrecords.com/elizabeth-laprelle/listen.htm">Elizabeth LaPrelle at Old97Records.com</a><br />
Clip of LaPrelle’s <a data-mce-href="http://greatlakesfolkfest.net/Programs&Activities/Music%26Dance/2008_music_clip/08%20East%20Virginia%20%28Clip%29.mp3" href="http://greatlakesfolkfest.net/Programs&Activities/Music%26Dance/2008_music_clip/08%20East%20Virginia%20%28Clip%29.mp3">“East Virginia”</a><br />
Elizabeth’s Great Lake Folk <a data-mce-href="http://greatlakesfolkfestival2011.sched.org/artist/elizabeth.laprelle" href="http://greatlakesfolkfestival2011.sched.org/artist/elizabeth.laprelle">Festival Venue and Schedule</a><br />
Elizabeth LaPrelle <a data-mce-href="http://www.old97wrecords.com/elizabeth-laprelle/about.htm" href="http://www.old97wrecords.com/elizabeth-laprelle/about.htm">in her own words</a><br />
<strong>New Notes and Links:</strong><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://rcah.msu.edu/news-events/events/center-poetry-fall-series-elizabeth-laprelle" href="http://rcah.msu.edu/news-events/events/center-poetry-fall-series-elizabeth-laprelle">MSU Residential College of Arts and Humanities Center for Poetry Fall Series Elizabeth LaPrelle</a><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://rcah.msu.edu/news-events/events/conversation-elizabeth-laprelle" href="http://rcah.msu.edu/news-events/events/conversation-elizabeth-laprelle">A Conversation with Elizabeth LaPrelle at MSU</a><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.elizabethlaprelle.com/" href="http://www.elizabethlaprelle.com/">Elizabeth LaPrelle website</a><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.elizabethlaprelle.com/" href="http://www.elizabethlaprelle.com/">Read all about the Crankies at Anna and Elizabeth’s website</a><br />
My blogspace at <a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/great-lakes-folk-festival-brings-you-elizabeth-laprelle-and-her-sweet-songs-from-the-blue-ridge/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/great-lakes-folk-festival-brings-you-elizabeth-laprelle-and-her-sweet-songs-from-the-blue-ridge/">The Livingston Post</a>
(Yesterday’s Coffee, Tomorrow’s Muse) with my original article about
Elizabeth LaPrelle and the sweet songs from the Blue Ridge Mountains<br />
For a beautiful article about Elizabeth and her music in the <a data-mce-href="http://www.wm.edu/as/music/news/alumnews-elizabeth-laprelle-09.php" href="http://www.wm.edu/as/music/news/alumnews-elizabeth-laprelle-09.php">William &Mary AlumNews</a>, read the words of Alexandra Hart.<br />
<em><strong>Author's
Note: Elizabeth LaPrelle was interviewed by Noah Adams of National
Public Radio on Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012. It's a wonderful interview. Once
you hear her sing the original mountain tunes of the Blue Ridge, the way
they're meant to be sung, you'll be tapping your feet away and quite
addicted to the beautiful music of Appalachia. </strong></em><br />
<strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.npr.org/2012/12/02/166251119/elizabeth-laprelle-carrying-on-the-appalachian-tradition" href="http://www.npr.org/2012/12/02/166251119/elizabeth-laprelle-carrying-on-the-appalachian-tradition">NPR Interview:</a> 'Elizabeth LaPrelle: Carrying On The Appalachian Tradition</strong><br />
<br />
<strong>(Published Nov. 13, 2012 in The Livingston Post)</strong><br />
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<br />SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-16822837777990297102015-06-29T19:22:00.001-07:002016-02-13T19:06:25.839-08:00Ebenezer': Williamston Theatre’s Christmas journey of the heart<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; color: #555555; font-family: helvetica; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px; margin-bottom: 15px;">
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<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/ebenezersmall1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/ebenezersmall1/" rel="attachment wp-att-22987"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-22987" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ebenezersmall1.jpg" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ebenezersmall1.jpg" height="450" width="291" /></a></h1>
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WOW. <i>Ebenezer.</i><br />
Michigan
playwright Joseph Zettelmaier needed only one word for his premier
script about Ebenezer Scrooge – the rest of the Dickens tale <i>A Christmas Carol </i>– simply, <i>Ebenezer.</i><br />
WOW: The one word that popped to mind after the first preview show at Williamston Theatre, in Williamston, MI.<br />
Now playing through Dec. 23, Zettlemaier’s <i>Ebenezer </i> in
a one-word phenomenon. A phenomenal play, destined to become a
Christmas classic. That was the consensus of the audience, those folks
who always come to test the waters of the latest WT play, and enjoy the
after-show discussion with playwright and director.<br />
They left the theatre that night floating in a bubble of WOW.<br />
Here’s my take on it. WOW: Wisdom, Originality, Wonder. That’s how I’d fill this orb of <i>Ebenezer </i>WOW.<br />
<b>Wisdom. </b>I
loved the wisdom of Ebenezer, played by veteran actor Arthur J. Beer. I
didn’t know what to expect from this play, only what I’d read in the WT
description:<br />
<i>It’s a cold Christmas Eve in London, and
Ebenezer Scrooge sits in a hospital room. Fifteen years have passed
since his miraculous transformation by the Ghosts of Christmas. Now
renowned for his generosity and selflessness, his spirit still yearns to
bring cheer to the world, but his flesh is weak. Such a little thing
isn’t likely to stop the old man, though, for he has a plan up his
sleeve that he hasn’t shared with his two troubled companions – Miss
Poole [played by Alysia Kolascz], and Tim Cratchit [played by Joseph
Seibert], recently returned from war in America. Over the course of the
evening, these two lost souls bear witness to events they do not fully
understand as the spirit of Christmas descends on Ebenezer once again.</i><br />
The wisdom of the life and times of Ebenezer Scrooge, deftly woven throughout, rings true for our 21<sup>st</sup> Century times, as well, we discover. In that sense, Zettelmaier’s work will surely become a favorite Christmas classic.<br />
<b>Originality. <i> </i> </b>I’ve
enjoyed all of Zettelmaier’s plays at WT, but was amazed at the
delightfully fresh and engaging originality of the story that he spins
out, with these three great actors in the intimate space of the
hospital room on stage.<br />
If you wanted to create a sequel for the
Ebenezer Scrooge classic, what would you write? I can’t imagine any more
pleasing way than what Zettelmaier has written, in combo with superb
direction by Willamston Theatre Executive Director John Lepard, and
perfect casting.<br />
<b>Wonder. </b>This is where the wonder comes in. <i>Ebenezer </i> is
a magical sequel to the Scrooge story, portrayed by wonderful actors in
a magical setting…complete with a feel-good ending that brings
Scrooge’s journey full circle and leaves its magical imprint on your
heart.<br />
The light-heartedness goes with you, as you step out the WT door, feeling optimistic about humanity. The spirit of Christmas -- <i>Ebenezer </i>reminds you -- is a spirit of wonder you can bring to life every day.<br />
I CAN imagine that Joseph Zettelmaier’s <i>Ebenezer, </i> after its World Premiere at Williamston Theatre, <i> </i> will WOW audiences for many Christmases to come.<br />
<b>Showtimes:</b><br />
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm; Saturdays at 3pm; Sundays at 2pm<br />
Thanksgiving weekend: Friday, Nov. 23 @3pm and 8pm; Saturday, Nov. 24 @3pm & 8pm; Sunday, Nov. 25 @2pm<br />
For ticket prices, and to order online: <a data-mce-href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/ebenezer" href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/ebenezer">Williamston Theatre website</a><br />
<b>Article Links about Williamston Theatre and Ebenezer:<br /> </b><br />
<b><a data-mce-href="http://www.mlive.com/lansing-entertainment/index.ssf/2012/11/q_a_ebenezer_playwright_imagin.html" href="http://www.mlive.com/lansing-entertainment/index.ssf/2012/11/q_a_ebenezer_playwright_imagin.html">Q&A: ‘Ebenezer’ playwright imagines life after ‘A Christmas Carol’</a></b><br />
Lansing State Journal: <a data-mce-href="http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20121121/THINGSTODO01/311210003/Old-Ebenezer-comes-Williamston-stage?odyssey=nav%7Chead&nclick_check=1" href="http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20121121/THINGSTODO01/311210003/Old-Ebenezer-comes-Williamston-stage?odyssey=nav%7Chead&nclick_check=1">Old Ebenezer comes to Williamston stage</a><br />
Broadway World: <a data-mce-href="http://detroit.broadwayworld.com/article/Williamston-Theatre-Presents-EBENEZER-World-Premiere-1115-1223-20121026" href="http://detroit.broadwayworld.com/article/Williamston-Theatre-Presents-EBENEZER-World-Premiere-1115-1223-20121026">Williamston Theatre presents Ebenezer, World Premiere</a><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://npaper-wehaa.com/citypulse/2012/11/14/#?article=1733952" href="http://npaper-wehaa.com/citypulse/2012/11/14/#?article=1733952">Scrooge Part II (Lansing City Pulse)</a><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=6796" href="http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=6796">Encore Michigan: Hope Triumphs in Zettelmaier's Christmas Tale</a><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=6796" href="http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=6796"><b><i>The Livingston Post...blog by Susan Parcheta recaps WT 2012-2013 season schedule:</i></b></a><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=22918&action=edit" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=22918&action=edit">Williamston Theatre: How do I love thee? Let me count the ways...</a><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://lansingonlinenews.com/community/ebenezer-creates-future-holiday-classic/#" href="http://lansingonlinenews.com/community/ebenezer-creates-future-holiday-classic/#">Lansing Online News : "Ebenezer" creates future holiday classic</a><br />
<i><b>Christmas 2012 Williamston Theatre Update:</b></i><br />
<blockquote>
<b>Director
John Lepard reprises his own Christmas classic: "This Wonderful Life"
--his award-winning one-man show with all the beloved characters from
the mythical Bedford Falls, after Frank Capra's film, "It's a Wonderful
Life." Lepard wowed audiences in 2009 with his endearing performance as
George Bailey and all the townsfolk. Due to popular demand, he brought
"This Wonderful Life" back to Williamston, last season, receiving more
acclaim. </b><br />
<b>Theatre goers may once again enjoy
this fantastic show for eight performances, Dec. 21-31 at the Tipping
Point Theatre in Northville, MI. Click on <a data-mce-href="http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=6882" href="http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=6882">Encore Michigan</a> announcement for showtimes and prices</b><br />
<b> <a data-mce-href="http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=6882" href="http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=6882">Encore Michigan</a>: <i>Everyone
will appreciate the inspired work of Lepard, whose masterful
performance gives life to a whole town full of people and brings a smile
to your face along the way.</i></b></blockquote>
<b> My blog about "This Wonderful Life" from last Christmas:</b><br />
<blockquote>
<a data-mce-href="The actor energizes Williamston Theatre stage in encore performance of a magical Christmas classic" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-admin/The%20actor%20energizes%20Williamston%20Theatre%20stage%20in%20encore%20performance%20of%20a%20magical%20Christmas%20classic"><b><i>John Lepard's 'wonderful life' resumes:</i> <i>The actor energizes Williamston Theatre stage in encore performance of a magical Christmas classic</i></b></a></blockquote>
<h1>
<span style="font-size: small;">Published Oct. 22, 2012 in The Livingston Post </span></h1>
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SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-78169077974313327732014-03-07T18:07:00.001-08:002014-03-07T18:19:13.710-08:00October skies surprise<i>By Susan G Parcheta </i><br />
<br />
<i>A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows. ~ St. Francis of Assisi</i><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-23963 " src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/YCOctSkies092812IMG_4876_edited-2.jpg" height="215" width="288" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Golden sassafras glows, inspiring memories</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Leaves of scarlet, gold, vermilion drift down from sun-glazed maples
and sassafras. Gratitude fills my heart for this annual show of wonder.<br />
<br />
October skies surprise sometimes. Shimmering, soft columns of late
afternoon light filter beams of memories of last year’s autumn days.
Like a scampering squirrel darting through life, I gather them up to
tuck safely away like the acorns that plop, bounce and tumble pell-mell
into the garage from tall oaks nearby.<br />
<br />
<br />
I hear the acorns drop. Walking to the mailbox on this October day,
I’m reminded. I’ve been here before – on an ordinary day that turned
into extraordinary, by the mere act of getting the mail. Smiling, I
glance across the road to the neighbor’s drive. I can still see her
there, the tawny-striped kitten that sweetly meowed, looking straight at
me, as if she owned my heart. Somehow, I knew she and I would share a
journey.<br />
<br />
I’ve heard of close encounters of the angelic kind, never imagining it could happen to me.<br />
<br />
Last October, I tuned in to a calling that I hadn’t expected.
Always, I’ve loved the stories of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron
saint of animals. October 4 is the Feast Day for St. Francis in the
tradition of the Catholic Church. While I’m of protestant upbringing,
I’ve a great reverence for the saints among us.<br />
<br />
The life of St. Francis is exemplary in his passion for all things
beautiful, for Nature and all God’s creatures. The Prayer of St. Francis
is one of humanity’s favorites; and truly he was one of the great
luminaries of all time.<br />
<br />
A year ago in October, I tuned in more than ever to the heart of St.
Francis, as I found myself nurturing back to health – or so I thought –
this brave stray kitten who’d adopted us. Her ginger personality
matched her gold and creamy stripes.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-23970" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/zuzu1105011533_edited-2.jpg" height="380" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">October skies surprise me with memories, of a tiny kitten with a giant heart of gold…</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<b>Sensing an angel encounter, I named her ZuZu –</b> after the little girl in my favorite Christmas film, <i>It’s a Wonderful Life. </i><br />
<br />
ZuZu wasn’t destined to age gracefully and beautifully, however. She
had some kind of inherent condition that precluded that. But, she had a
lot to teach me.<br />
<br />
I began to think about the power that animals have in shape-shifting
our lives. I gained a greater respect and curiosity for the
ever-expanding field of human and animal interaction and communication.
Now, the subject fascinates me.<br />
<br />
Now, I see endless possibilities for greater awareness of our
relationships with our animal companions. ZuZu came at a time when I
needed to learn about letting go… of relaxing into the seasons of life
and going with the flow of it.<br />
<br />
She helped me feel that it’s OK to relax and let go of my negative
thoughts, as though they were leaves fluttering down from the trees or
acorns that she playfully batted around the garage.<br />
<br />
She taught me, with her heart of gold, that I could be gentle and
compassionate with myself — that I could live each day with gratitude
for each moment, trusting that love and light would be there for me,
whenever I could allow myself to accept and receive it.<br />
<br />
Her sweet spirit touched me, in the spirit of St. Francis, like a sunbeam.<br />
ZuZu taught me that I could daily be inspired in this light, in this
joy of being; that each day, as naturally as the breath of life, I
could let go, leaving the shadows behind; that I could be like the
Prayer of St. Francis.<br />
<br />
ZuZu, in reality, was nurturing me.<br />
<br />
<b><i>Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace</i></b><br />
<i>Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.</i><br />
<i>Where there is hatred, let me sow love.</i><br />
<i>Where there is injury, pardon.<br />
Where there is doubt, faith.</i><br />
<i>Where there is despair, hope.</i><br />
<i>Where thereis darkness, light.</i><br />
<i>Where there is sadness, joy.</i><br />
<i>O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much </i><br />
<i>Seek to be consoled as to console, </i><br />
<i>Not so much to be understood as to understand,</i><br />
<i>Not so much to be loved, but to love.</i><br />
<i>For it is in giving that we receive,</i><br />
<i>It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,</i><br />
<i>It is in dying that we awake to eternal life.</i><br />
<i>~ St. Francis of Assisi</i><br />
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<i>Author’s Note: My story of ZuZu in the autumn of 2011, is archived at my blogspace on <a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/zuzu-and-me-celebrating-an-epiphany-angels-acorns/">TheLivingstonPost.com</a> and my Blogspot space <a href="http://www.yesterdayscoffeetomorrowsmuse.blogspot.com/2012/01/zuzu-me-celebrating-epiphany-angels_16.html#more">YesterdaysCoffeeTomorrowsMuse. <br /> </a></i><br />
<i>(Pub. Oct. 14, 2012 at The Livingston Post.com) </i>SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-37205769315586441272013-03-11T21:03:00.001-07:002014-03-07T18:22:17.917-08:00Storms of Autumn: Embracing Winds of Change<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><i>By Susan G Parcheta</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><i> </i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><b><i>The little reed, bending to the force of the wind, soon stood upright again when the storm had passed over. ~ Aesop</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;">Before Hurricane Sandy took a sharp left turn into the New England states, I’d been thinking about autumn in the traditional sort of sentimental way we tend to think about autumn. Specifically: its beauty.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;">There is a beauty to each season. There’s a cyclical beauty that resonates internally, as we look forward to the transforming of one season into the next.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;">One day, I’m thinking about the wonder of the autumn winds on a day when the last remnants of leaves flutter down from trees. Always, it’s the same transformational time. Autumn winds blow. Leaves fall. Leaves pile up on yards and walkways. Kids jump in them. Dads and moms rake them up and blow them away.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/storms-of-autumn-embracing-winds-of-change/oak-leaf-heart_edited-2/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/storms-of-autumn-embracing-winds-of-change/oak-leaf-heart_edited-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-24211"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-24211" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/oak-leaf-heart_edited-2.jpg" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/oak-leaf-heart_edited-2.jpg" height="271" style="border: 0px; cursor: default; float: right;" width="391" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;">It’s a ritual that anyone who grows up in a state with seasons finds emblazoned in their memories -- enough that they might be tempted to send a box of autumn leaves (as someone I know did )to a transplanted friend in a far southern state.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;">On this day, the sound of a warm autumn breeze caresses my heart, as the gentle wind touches my face. Shuffling along through crunchy layers of leaves on walkways perks my spirit. The rhythmic flow of my feet swishing in leaves comforts. The fragrance of autumn fills my soul with gratitude. I breathe easy; I’m relishing the out-of-doors; life is good.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #b45f06;">I find that I’m experimenting with tuning in more to the nuances of the seasons. I’m learning to appreciate the singular beauty that each season offers in succession: Autumn, winter, spring, summer.</span></div>
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Autumn, in particular, heralds traditions. Holidays loom brightly on the calendar’s horizon. Family and friends become the focus. My heart begins to move inward, in anticipation of the giving and receiving that this autumn cycle – this thanks-giving time of year -- activates in me.</div>
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There is a power in each season, which I long to discover and to harness in my daily life. Going with the flow of seasons, swishing through the leaves…gracefully into years, into decades, into a lifetime: I think about all that.</div>
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But wait. That is the sentimental me talking. What if autumn winds of change come in as a Hurricane Sandy, with unimaginable fury? I’m not on the East Coast, but I know people there. I watch the news accounts; and I’m stunned. I’m stunned by the visual effects of this monster mega storm and its aftermath -- its destruction and disruption.</div>
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I stop in my tracks -- humbled by the courage of the souls in the midst of this fury, when I suffer only a day’s power outage from the backside winds a thousand miles inland. That night I hear the winds howling in blizzard mode. I’m wondering -- of all the storms I’ve been through, how would I have the resilience to navigate a Sandy?</div>
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Just as I think I have it figured out -- this acceptance of seasonal change and the gifts that it brings-- Sandy or a Katrina comes along and changes things.</div>
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Sometimes, we’re positioned in the face of the storm. Life becomes a crescendo to ride. We might make it bravely through the peak, but then the aftermath gets us, bringing us to our knees. It’s not an amusement park ride; the amusement park disappeared.</div>
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Where’s the gift in that?</div>
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We feel like we’re in the midst of a movie, but who’s directing this epic? We hope against hope that we’ll wake up in the morning and discover it was all a dream. We wish we might reel it back to the day we were happily swishing through the leaves.</div>
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Where do we get the power…the resilience to keep on keeping on?</div>
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As I write this, my favorite baseball team, the Detroit Tigers – when within the realm of possibility to win the World Series – felt the cold winds of Sandy brewing out east. Meanwhile, another giant storm came along, the San Francisco Giants, and swept them back to think about next year.</div>
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On the eve of the 2012 election for president of the United States, the outcome is too close to call. Hurricane Sandy changed the game plan for this election in the minds of many. But did it really? The days after the monster storm will play out, and so will the voting.</div>
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As the little girl in that viral You Tube video sobbed to her mom about Mitt and Barack battling over the airwaves, we were right there with her. Soon it will be over, her mom assured her. What a political mega storm. We’re all waiting for it to be over.</div>
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Like Sandy, it will crush some who’ll wake up wondering if they’re dreaming. What kind of movie will this be? What kind of nation will we be? What kind of citizens will we be?</div>
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Some of us will feel the storm took a sharp left turn and left us awash. Some of us will be glad the storm missed us. Or did it? Either way, we’re all affected. Either way, we must individually find a way to step back into the beauty that is our country.</div>
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At least, that’s my wish for us. As author Richard Bach, puts it, Y<i>ou are never given a wish without also being given the power to make it true. You may have to work for it, however.</i></div>
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May we all stand upright, with courage, after the storm. May we embrace these winds of change, and imagine the possibilities. May true transformation take place this season, amidst abundant thanks-giving.</div>
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<i>(Pub Oct 4, 2012 at <a href="http://www.thelivingstonpost.com/">The Livingston Post</a>)</i></div>
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SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-77243256307070165012012-11-23T20:26:00.002-08:002012-11-23T21:29:41.568-08:00My First 90 Years: Michigan’s Walking Man Clayton Klein pens memoirs<br />
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><i>By Susan G Parcheta</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">“Come walk with me across a century,” Michigan’s<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Walking Man<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>Clayton Klein might say, as he invites us to celebrate his life and times in his newest book:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>My First 90 Years.</i></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/my-first-90-years-michigans-walking-man-clayton-klein-pens-memoirs/download-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-23612" style="border: 0px; color: #1282c4; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-23612 " height="166" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/download-1.jpg" style="border: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 620px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="181" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">“Come Walk With Me” — Clayton Klein, the Walking Man inspires Michiganians ~ Walking Man logo art by Laurie McDowell</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">The author, adventurer, entrepreneur looks back from the grand perspective of a nonagenarian.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">Follow this extraordinary time traveler (now 93), as he takes you on an incredible journey from his hometown of Fowlerville in the Middle of the Mitten to Mackinac, from Costa Rica to the Arctic Ocean.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/my-first-90-years-michigans-walking-man-clayton-klein-pens-memoirs/front-cover_edited-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-23604" style="border: 0px; color: #1282c4; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-23604" height="300" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Front-cover_edited-2-240x300.jpg" style="border: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 620px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="240" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">Memoirs of Clayton Klein, Michigan’s ‘Walking Man’</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">Enjoy tales of exploration of far-flung frontiers, whether canoeing the vast wilderness of the Canada’s Northwest Territories and the Yukon, or piloting his Cessna airplanes over the mountains and jungles of Central America.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">Klein is known throughout Michigan for his solo walks each September from 2005 to 2009 on behalf of Michigan’s Hospice programs – trekking 420 miles from Paradise on the shores of Lake Superior in the Upper Peninsula, across the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day down through the heart of Michigan to Hell in Livingston County and beyond into Ohio. He continues to enjoy each Labor Day Bridge Walk.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">A back injury suffered many years ago prompted him, at doctor’s recommendation, to begin walking. His back healed, Klein continued to walk daily, having now logged over 65,000 miles throughout Michigan. His walks for Hospice inspired countless others to become more active.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">At the conclusion of the 2009 Labor Day Bridge Walk, Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm presented Klein with a plaque from the State of Michigan honoring him for his contribution to its citizens.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><a href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/my-first-90-years-michigans-walking-man-clayton-klein-pens-memoirs/claytonkleinwithwalkplaque121109-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-23598" style="border: 0px; color: #1282c4; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-23598" height="300" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/ClaytonKleinWithPlaque-121109-P1100938_edited-2-200x300.jpg" style="border: none; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; max-width: 620px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;" width="200" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">Clayton Klein, The Walking Man, with plaque from State of Michigan in honor of his contributions to Michigan Hospice and to inspiring creative, healthy living at any age.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">The book highlights his youthful days growing up as a country boy, and later as a farmer, business man and book publisher – along with much local history of people and events during the last nine decades. Throughout you’ll glimpse the strength and determination of a man who believed he could accomplish his dreams.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;">Klein comes from a family of writers, and is author of several books, including<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Cold Summer Wind,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>recounting his Canadian paddling adventures, and <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>A Well-Kept Secret: From the Glory Years of the Detroit Tigers,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>about his late wife Marjorie’s friendship with the legendary Hall-of-Fame hero Hank Greenberg.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><i>My First 90 Years</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is available for pre-publication price of $20. After Oct. 15 it will be $24.95, plus $3.50 for shipping. Checks and money orders may be sent to Clayton Klein, PO Box 968, Fowlerville, MI 48836. For more information, Email<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="mailto:clayton@firststep.net" style="border: 0px; color: #1282c4; font-family: inherit; font-size: 15px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: initial; vertical-align: baseline;">clayton@firststep.net</a>.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"> You may keep up with <span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The Walking Man<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i> and his latest tales on Facebook at<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Clayton Klein the Walking Man.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i> The book is also available at Amazon</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #fce5cd;"> <i>(Pub. Sept. 19, 2012 @thelivingstonpost.com)</i></span></div>
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SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-82599207765938070072012-09-10T06:49:00.003-07:002012-09-10T06:51:24.687-07:00In Memory of Trees<br />
<i>By Susan G Parcheta</i><br />
<i>(pub Sept. 2, 2012) </i><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i>The turn I have just taken, the turn that I was making, I might
be just beginning, I might be near the end.” ~ (From the album “The
Memory of Trees” by Enya, lyrics by Roma Ryan)</i></span></b></span><br />
<br />
Had I not made
the turn, I might not have noticed. I’d felt uneasy all day, that
other-shoe-is-going-to drop feeling. Only, in this case it was a tree.<br />
In
my uneasiness, I decided going for a walk might help. Walking among
the trees always brings to me a sense of balance. It’s a simple thing
to do, when things seem awry.<br />
<br />
I wasn’t looking intently. I just
began my usual walkaround, mostly noticing the ground before me. When I
reached the fork in the trail, where I usually go left, I felt the nudge
to make a right turn. Then, looking ahead, I wondered what had happened
that I couldn’t see through to the end. Masses of leaves covered the
trail.<br />
<br />
<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/in-memory-of-trees/cherrytreecollapse-aug-31-2012img_4460_edited-1-2/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/in-memory-of-trees/cherrytreecollapse-aug-31-2012img_4460_edited-1-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-23441" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-23441" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/CherryTreeCollapse-Aug-31-2012IMG_4460_edited-11.jpg" height="239" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/CherryTreeCollapse-Aug-31-2012IMG_4460_edited-11.jpg" width="320" /></a>In astonishment, I realized it was the top of a fallen
tree. Somehow, my heart knew it was my tree house tree. What else could
it possibly be, that I’d have felt that uneasiness, and made a right
turn. I could have easily walked to the left, on around the trail, back
through the yard, and I honestly don’t think I’d have noticed. It had
fallen perfectly within the stand of trees and not into the main yard.<br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
I
still can’t believe it happened. Yet, it also astonishes me that,
somehow, there’s within me a knowing that all is well. It astonishes me
that I’m so…OK with this event.<br />
<br />
Perhaps the tree falling is
symbolic of a transformation going on in my life. Why, when I almost
physically hurt when my husband cuts down a tree, am I so OK with it?<br />
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I’ve
dreamed of a tree house in that tree for many years…especially now that
tree houses have become popular for creative garden projects. I don’t
even have any grandchildren; but still, I want a tree house. I loved
climbing trees as a child, although we never had a tree house. I’ve
always felt something missing in that regard.<br />
<br />
Plus, I want to be
able to climb up into my tree house, as an eagle in an aerie. I’d like
to think that, from that perspective, I could have lots of fun writing.
Up there, I can imagine all sorts of ideas floating in on the wind.
Yes, I’d really love a tree house.<br />
<br />
Upon reflection, I think I know
why the collapsing of this magnificent tree seems natural somehow. My
husband had kept telling me that he thought it wasn’t safe to build a
tree house there, that the tree was too unstable.<br />
<br />
“But, it’s been
there for years,” I’d tell him. It’s survived countless heavy
windstorms. All four trunks have stood like beacons of possibility to
me. I imagined a giant double-decker tree haven built around it. I
figured that, to him, it was just my silly fantasy. He dreaded the idea
of cutting any of it, knowing my passion for that beautiful four-trunk
wild cherry tree. And so, the tree remained standing; and I never got
my tree house.<br />
<br />
Turns out, he was right. When I walked alongside
the two trunks that were down, I couldn’t even cry. One day the tree was
upright, the next, it was half gone. This tree, I figured, was too
tired to hold itself up anymore. And, it didn’t just keel over. It
simply folded over on itself.<br />
<br />
I’d heard no sound of a tree
falling; and you can hear and feel them thud to the ground when sawed
down, whether in our yard or the neighbors. It appeared to have simply
bent over as a tall reed. Strange. Yet, maybe not.<br />
<br />
My husband,
who works at a nearby park, asked the nature ranger about it. Her theory
matched mine. I’d wondered if these months of extreme heat and drought
had taken a toll, even on the tallest trees. She confirmed that many
trees were weakening because of that stress on them. How very sad.<br />
<br />
The
stresses of extreme weather on humans, on animals, trees and plants are
being felt all across the land. Learning to bend as a tree in the wind
takes on new meaning in the aftermath of my tree slumping over on
itself, giving up its life force.<br />
<br />
<i>To everything a season… Once in a blue moon...</i><br />
<br />
My tree collapsed at the time of the blue moon, which won’t come around again for three more years, they say.<br />
<br />
More and more, I’m appreciating the time I’ve been given, the seasons I’ve navigated and enjoyed, the blue moons come and gone.<br />
<br />
I appreciate the trees I’ve loved, the turns I’ve taken through the woods…the beginnings, and the endings.SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-56235471752875473162012-09-10T06:42:00.000-07:002012-09-10T06:42:13.003-07:00My Disappearing Universe<br />
<em>By Susan G Parcheta</em><br />
<em>(pub. Aug. 17, 2012 at thelivingstonpost.com)</em><br />
<em> </em><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><em>Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how.
The moment you know how, you begin to die a little. The artist never
entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap
in the dark." ~ Agnes DeMille</em></span></span><br />
<br />
Have you ever been gone on a retreat for a week, then come home to find the rest of the world has taken a quantum leap?<br />
<br />
It’s
puzzling to me. Gone to the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia for a
workshop on Intuitive Heart Discovery with Henry Reed. My cell phone
worked intermittently, as did the Internet. So my attempts to connect
with the outer world were random; and the workshop schedule left little
time for randomness.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-23249 " data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/RainbowTreeIMG_4065_edited-1.jpg" height="269" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/RainbowTreeIMG_4065_edited-1.jpg" width="360" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Afternoon rainbow over Blue Ridge mountain meadow</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The
intensity of the classes threw me into overdrive, leaving little desire
to try to catch up on a random basis. Besides, it’s always kind of fun
to have a week where you are not totally tied to your TV, iPhone, or
laptop.<br />
<br />
Fun, maybe, but also funny, in that life has a way of
leaping past you during those times. I was missing the second half of
the Summer Olympics in London, after all – only getting home in time to
watch the closing ceremonies.<br />
<br />
The Mars Rover Curiosity big NASA event I missed totally. I felt that I was the one on another planet all week.<br />
<br />
And
the Detroit Tigers, I wondered what happened to Quintin Berry while I
was gone. I think I have it figured out; although it’s not the same
watching the games without him sparking the lineup so much now.<br />
<br />
Just as
well. I’ve scads of things on my end-of-summer to<em> do list. </em> A little less baseball, a little more writing, and other sundry things.<br />
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<br />
Suddenly, in the week’s time lapse, <em>old summer </em>(my
husband’s description) arrived. I wasn’t expecting it so soon -- this
uneasy feeling you get when you realize summer’s sliding into fall. The
leaves on the ferns yellowed while I was gone. My eye catches tiny
yellow leaves fluttering down from the trees. I’m not ready for the
transition.<br />
<br />
Normally, I’d be glued to the Olympics…watching as
many events as possible. This year, the games were almost an
afterthought. Being gone, not to see them for four more years? No
matter. That puzzles me, too.<br />
<br />
And, the Rover on Mars. I’ve waited
decades for news like this. Yet, that too, seems an afterthought this
summer. I don’t have to be here for the event, I can contemplate the
replays, the follow-up.<br />
<br />
Baseball. Oh, well. I have other ways now to share my feelings about the sport. <em>Take Me Out to the Ballgame </em> has a whole other meaning now.<br />
Summer maybe be trying to depart. But, there’s always that <em>invincible summer</em> in my heart that Albert Camus managed to define in two words. I’ve seasons of words to put together now.<br />
<br />
What
is it about 2012 that makes things seem topsy-turvy? Maybe it’s the
peaking solar flares theory. Well, it’s nice to have something to blame
it on.<br />
It couldn’t be that it’s me, turning
upside-down/inside-out. Or maybe it IS me. Maybe I’m looking at my
disappearing universe around me, only to discover that the important
universe is the one inside me.<br />
<br />
Working at finding the balance within me, things seem to blend a little more magically. I like it that way.<br />
<br />
The
Olympics may come and go. The space events may come and go. Dare I say
politics may come and go? Yet, my world becomes ever more vibrant. Out
there doesn’t ruffle my feathers as much anymore. Yes, I like it like
that.<br />
<br />
I like where I’m going with this Intuitive Heart stuff. I
like the quantum leap I’m taking in my heart, no matter where the world
leaps when I retreat for awhile.<br />
Now let’s see what I do with what
I’m learning. Where in the universe is Sue Parcheta? Stay tuned. You
might be in for a surprise.<br />
<br />
<strong><em>Links of Interest</em></strong><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://earthsky.org/space/coolest-images-of-or-from-mars-curiosity-rover-so-far" href="http://earthsky.org/space/coolest-images-of-or-from-mars-curiosity-rover-so-far">Curiosity is Here</a>: Earth Sky images of Mars Curiosity Rover<br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/aug/HQ_M12-152_Mars_Curiosity_Teleconference_Aug_17.html" href="http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/aug/HQ_M12-152_Mars_Curiosity_Teleconference_Aug_17.html">Curiosity NASA Teleconference</a> August 17, 2012<br />
<a data-mce-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintin_Berry" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quintin_Berry">Detroit Tiger Quintin Berry</a> Wikipedia Page<br />
<a data-mce-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronological_summary_of_the_2012_Summer_Olympics" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronological_summary_of_the_2012_Summer_Olympics">Summer Olympics</a> overview of gamesSusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-63297724419793912262012-09-10T06:35:00.001-07:002012-09-10T06:35:21.290-07:00Williamston Theatre, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways…<br />
<i>By Susan G Parcheta</i><br />
<i>(pub. July 23, 2012 at www.thelivingstonpost.com)</i><br />
<i> </i> <br />
I don’t know how Shakespeare came to mind when I was sitting down to
write an update blog about one of my favorite places on the planet –
Williamston Theatre (WT) in downtown Williamston, Michigan.<br />
<br />
True,
the theatre – now an integral part of the community landscape – performs
Shakespeare now and then. And, true, Aral Gribble, one of the two
powerhouse actors in the current production – <em>Red, White and Tuna –</em> appeared in <em>The Complete Works of Williams Shakespeare (Abridged) </em>two summers ago.<br />
<br />
<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/redwhitetuna_fiinal_ol-2/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/redwhitetuna_fiinal_ol-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-22919" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-22919" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/RedWhiteTuna-web.jpg" height="193" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/RedWhiteTuna-web.jpg" width="300" /></a><br />
Apparently,
I tend to make the connection when I see Gribble in a WT play “Tuna’s” a
remote connection, I’ll agree, but the comedy and laughs garnered when
watching Gribble perform are a match. Gribble was great, as well, in
this season’s <em>Dead Man’s Shoes.</em><br />
OK, now you know that Williamston Theatre is featuring Aral Gribble in <em>Red, White and Tuna</em> (July 12-Aug. 19). And, you know I’m going to tell you some of my favorite things about Williamston Theatre.<br />
<br />
Well,
one of those favorites is Wayne David Parker, the other half of the
tuneful “Tuna” twosome. I truly enjoyed Wayne David Parker in <em>Talley’s Folly </em>– one of my first WT experiences -- and in subsequent shows. Parker and Gribble gained a sizable local fan base in last year’s <em>Greater Tuna;</em> and I hear tell they’ll bring us <em>Tuna Does Vegas</em> next year.<br />
<br />
Those
fans were certainly out in force on July 12, when the theatre opened
this production run. It’s always fun to attend the very first night,
when you can participate in audience comment and suggestions afterward.
I’d guess from the near sell-out crowd, that lots of folks are getting
hooked as we did, and putting the first WT night on their favorites
list.<br />
<br />
The <em>Tuna </em>series has an interesting background – going back three decades. Playwrights Jaston Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard debuted <em>Greater Tuna </em>in
1981, with off-Broadway following in 1982. The wildly successful plays
feature two men; and the actors are constantly engaged in the challenge
of playing over 20 character roles – all adding to the comedic
atmosphere.<br />
<br />
If you want laughs, go see a <em>Tuna </em>production. Especially, though, go to a <em>Tuna </em>production at Williamston Theatre. Gribble and Parker continue to develop these laugh-a-minute characters with each <em>Tuna. </em><br />
<em></em><br />
<a name='more'></a><em> </em><br />
<em> <strong>Red, White and Tuna as described on the <a data-mce-href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/red-white-and-tuna" href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/red-white-and-tuna">WT website</a></strong></em><strong>: </strong><br />
<em>Reprising
their roles from our smash-hit production of Greater Tuna, the
hilarious team of Aral Gribble and Wayne David Parker return for the
outrageous summertime sequel, once again portraying the entire
population of the town in this quick-change comedy. The 4th of July in
Tuna, Texas means it’s time for the Tuna High School Class Reunion, and
the return of some of your favorite Tuna residents, like Petey Fisk and
Reverend Spikes, as well as some outlandish newcomers! You won’t want to
miss this loving, side-splitting satire of life where the Lion’s Club
is too liberal and Patsy Cline never dies.</em><br />
<br />
You can catch up with the <em>Tuna trilogy on </em><a data-mce-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Tuna" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Tuna">Wikipedia</a>; and there’s even a <em><a data-mce-href="https://greatertuna.com/index.cfm" href="https://greatertuna.com/index.cfm">Tuna web “General Store”</a></em> where you can order Tuna DVDs, tees, and other sundry Tuna souvenirs.<br />
<br />
<strong><em>Red, White and Tuna </em>ends the 2011-2012 season at WT</strong>.
It seems a blink of an eye ago that I posted the plays for this year.
The new 2012-2013 season begins Sept. 20 (See schedule at end of
article) with <strong><em>boom. </em></strong><br />
<br />
<strong>First, though, more favorite WT things</strong>...<br />
I’ve
grown to appreciate following the WT co-founders: John Lepard
(executive director); Tony Casselli (artistic director); Chris Purchis
(managing director); and Emily Sutton-Smith (development director).<br />
<br />
It’s been fun getting to know them over the past four years, since I first interviewed John Lepard (director of R<em>ed, White and Tuna) </em>in 2008 for the Fowlerville News & Views. I had no concept of the adventure that would unfold. More articles for <em>Livingston Talk </em>(now<em> The Livingston Post, </em>Maria Stuart, editor). More wonderful plays attended.<br />
<br />
This
has been my first experience being a loyal fan for a theatre company.
While I dabbled in theatre a wee bit in college, this aspect of the arts
was mostly sidelined for me in the intervening years. I’m grateful,
therefore, for the opportunity to delve once again into this magical
entertainment realm.<br />
<br />
I love having Williamston Theatre and company
as a cornerstone feature of the Williamston Community for people across
mid-Michigan to enjoy. I appreciate the artistic expression of these
professional actors. I love the stories told, the life lessons
revisited, the wisdom and insight shared via this live medium.<br />
<br />
Even though I know the impact of live theatre, I’ve twice wished that we could bottle up John Lepard’s <em>This Wonderful Life </em>to
enjoy each Christmas, along with the James Stewart movie. Sorry,
can’t be helped. I always have to put the plug in for my favorite WT
wish.<br />
<br />
That’s one example of how live theatre can affect you. The
actors, of course, will tell you that live theatre is live theatre for
the very reason of being live. You can’t bottle it up and put it on a
shelf like a movie film. (However, I sure do love those You Tube
snippets).<br />
<br />
I love being able to create an event with friends, by
attending a WT play, with dinner before or a nightcap after at a local
restaurant. I’ll give a little plug here for the newest on the block,
Tavern 109 downtown. It was great grabbing a coffee and dessert after
the<em> Tuna</em> performance -- with live music playing – in a relaxed pub atmosphere, for a few moments of conversation.<br />
<br />
<strong>Well,
we’ll have lots to discuss over the next WT season. Wow, can it be the
seventh? I asked Williamston Theatre Artistic Director Tony Caselli
about the new shows:</strong><br />
<br />
<em>"</em>I love our lineup for next
season," Caselli says. "The mix of comedy and serious, I think, is
just right, and what I love the most is that each of the stories, at
it's core, is a celebration of life - and not just life, but people
choosing to move through life together. That theme is one that we love
to explore, and it resonates through the whole season."<br />
<br />
<strong>Here’s the lineup for 2012-2013 with official descriptions: </strong><br />
<strong><br /></strong>
<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/boomsmall1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/boomsmall1/" rel="attachment wp-att-22985" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright wp-image-22985" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/boomsmall1.jpg" height="252" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/boomsmall1.jpg" width="163" /></a><strong>Boom</strong><br />
<strong> </strong>by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb -- September 20 – October 21<br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
<em>Something
is about to explode. A grad student’s online personal ad lures a
mysterious journalism student to his subterranean research lab for a
“casual encounter”, but there’s nothing casual about this particular
evening! She discovers that he actually fears the end of the world is
at hand… and from there things get weird! Will they survive? Will
their casual encounter lead to another big bang? What’s going on in the
fishbowl? What’s our place in the universe? And who is that woman
playing the timpani!? This epic and intimate comedy spans billions of
years and will keep you laughing ‘til the unexpected end! (Contains
Mature Language and Themes)</em><br />
<br />
<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/ebenezersmall1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/ebenezersmall1/" rel="attachment wp-att-22987" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright wp-image-22987" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ebenezersmall1.jpg" height="315" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/ebenezersmall1.jpg" width="204" /></a><strong>Ebenezer</strong><br />
by Joe Zettelmaier -- November 15 - December 23<br />
<br /> <em>A World Premiere:</em><em></em><br />
<em>It’s
a cold Christmas Eve in London, and Ebenezer Scrooge sits in a hospital
room. 15 years have passed since his miraculous transformation by the
Ghosts of Christmas. Now renowned for his generosity and selflessness,
his spirit still yearns to bring cheer to the world, but his flesh is
weak. Such a little thing isn’t likely to stop the old man, though, for
he has a plan up his sleeve that he hasn’t shared with his two troubled
companions – Miss Poole, the nurse assigned to his care, and Tim
Cratchit, recently returned from war in America. Over the course of the
evening, these two lost souls bear witness to events they do not fully
understand as the spirit of Christmas descends on Ebenezer once again.</em><br />
<br />
<strong><em>End Days</em></strong><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/enddayssmall1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/enddayssmall1/" rel="attachment wp-att-22989" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright wp-image-22989" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/enddayssmall1.jpg" height="315" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/enddayssmall1.jpg" width="204" /></a>by Deborah Zoe Laufer -- January 24 – February 24, 2013<br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
<em>It’s
2003, and sixteen-year-old Rachel Stein is having a bad year. Her
father hasn’t changed out of his pajamas since 9/11. Her mother has
begun a close, personal relationship with Jesus. Her new neighbor, a
sixteen-year-old Elvis impersonator, has fallen for her hard. And the
Apocalypse is coming Wednesday. Her only hope is that Stephen Hawking
will save them all. Hilariously funny and achingly poignant, End Days </em><em>takes us on a wonderful journey exploring love, loss and the healing power of family. (Contains Mature Language and Themes)</em><br />
<br />
<strong><em>Shirley Valentine</em></strong><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/shirleysmall1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/shirleysmall1/" rel="attachment wp-att-22991" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright wp-image-22991" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/shirleysmall1.jpg" height="315" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/shirleysmall1.jpg" width="204" /></a>by Willy Russell -- March 21 – April 21, 2013<br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
<em>What
can you do when you realize that you’ve hit middle age, and your life
has been shaped by choices made by everyone except you? The heroine in
this actor’s tour-de-force is an ordinary middle class English
housewife. As she prepares chips and egg for dinner, she ruminates on
her life and tells the wall about her husband, her children, her past,
and an invitation from a girlfriend to join her on holiday in Greece to
search for romance and adventure. Ultimately, Shirley does … and begins
the process of shaping her life into something wonderful. This one-woman
play became an instant classic the minute it premiered! (Contains
Mature Themes)</em><br />
<br />
10:53<br />
<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/1053small1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/1053small1/" rel="attachment wp-att-22994" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright wp-image-22994" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/1053small1.jpg" height="315" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/1053small1.jpg" width="204" /></a>by Annie Martin -- May 16 – June 16, 2013<br />
<br /> A World Premiere:<br />
<em>The
worst part of a hospital waiting room is normally the waiting but, in
the midst of a prolonged family medical crisis, Kathryn Fuller regards
the waiting room as a welcome refuge from her increasingly chaotic life.
However, the real world quickly invades her new home away from home,
and she’s surrounded with her over-the-top family life, rebellious,
love-struck daughter and a mysterious stranger who, oddly, shows up at
the same time every night. What happens when the universe decides our
lives need a shaking up, whether we like it or not? Will Kathryn get
drawn into the ridiculous comedy, drama, and potential romance swirling
around her beloved waiting room, or will she burrow deeper into her
seclusion from the world? (Contains Mature Language)</em><br />
<br />
<strong><em>Tuna Does Vegas</em></strong><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/tunasmall1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-how-do-i-love-thee-let-me-count-the-ways/tunasmall1/" rel="attachment wp-att-22996" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright wp-image-22996" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/tunasmall1.jpg" height="315" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/tunasmall1.jpg" width="204" /></a>by Jaston Williams, Joe Sears, Ed Howard - July 11 – August 18, 2013<br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
<em>Aral
Gribble and Wayne David Parker reunite for the finale of our “Tuna
Trilogy”. Join the lovable and eccentric characters from the ‘third
smallest town in Texas’ as they take a rambling romp in Sin City. The
hilarity begins when oddball-conservative radio host Arles Struvie
announces on air that he and his wife Bertha Bumiller are heading to
Vegas to renew their wedding vows…but everyone in Tuna, Texas goes along
for the ride! Tuna Does Vegas is both an affectionate comment on
small-town life as well as a hilarious satire of the same. The eclectic
band of citizens that make up this town are portrayed by only two
actors, making this send-up on life in rural America even more
delightful as they depict all of the inhabitants of Tuna — men, women,
Vegas showgirls, Elvis impersonators and more!</em><br />
<br />
Season
Voucher Books, with all the benefits that go with them – preferred
seating, early reservation priviledges and discounts on tickets – will
go on sale in August 2012! Call (517) 655-7469 to be added to our
mailing list to receive our Season Brochure. <a data-mce-href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/season-subscriptions-now-on-sale" href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/season-subscriptions-now-on-sale" title="Season Subscriptions now on sale!">Click here for more information.</a><br />
<br data-mce-bogus="1" />
<strong>Links:</strong><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Tuna" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Tuna">Wikipedia: Greater Tuna</a><br />
<a data-mce-href="https://greatertuna.com/index.cfm" href="https://greatertuna.com/index.cfm">Greater Tuna Store</a><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20120713/THINGSTODO01/307130010/July-heralds-return-Tuna-Williamston" href="http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20120713/THINGSTODO01/307130010/July-heralds-return-Tuna-Williamston">Lansing State Journal</a>: <em>July Heralds the return of ‘Tuna’ in Williamston </em><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20120702/WILLIAMSTON01/307020003/Williamston-Theatre-remains-vibrant-amid-bad-economy" href="http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20120702/WILLIAMSTON01/307020003/Williamston-Theatre-remains-vibrant-amid-bad-economy">Lansing State Journal:</a> <em>Williamston Theatre remains vibrant amid bad economy</em><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/print-article-7636-print.html" href="http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/print-article-7636-print.html">Lansing City Pulse</a>: <em>Return of the Texas twosome</em><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=6319" href="http://encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=6319">Encore Michigan</a>: <em>Dynamic Duo returns to Tuna, Texas, and to Williasmston Theatre</em><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/red-white-and-tuna" href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/red-white-and-tuna">Williamston Theatre</a>: <em>Red, White and Tuna</em><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=6301" href="http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=6301">Encore Michigan</a>: <em>Williamston Theatre returns to Tuna, Texas for the summer</em><br />
<a data-mce-href="http://www.purplerosetheatre.org/about/featured-artists/wayne-david-parker" href="http://www.purplerosetheatre.org/about/featured-artists/wayne-david-parker">Purple Rose Theatre</a>: Wayne David ParkerSusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-32405109991883786142012-09-08T20:26:00.002-07:002012-09-08T20:27:42.121-07:00Summer Solstice Stars: Anniversaries, strawberry fields, rhubarb pie, Tiger baseball & fireflies Mid-summer always dazzles, with the longest, brightest, hottest days.
Can anything be sweeter than a day in June that might contain a
wedding, an anniversary, a morning in strawberry fields, an afternoon
reminiscing and baking rhubarb pie, an evening TV date with your
favorite Michigan baseball team, or a moonlit rendezvous with fireflies?<br />
<br />
I guess you could say, without a doubt – these are among my favorite things of summer.<br />
<br />
This
year, 2012, we didn’t attend any weddings in June. But, I was thinking
about a monumental one that took place 45 anniversaries ago on June 17.
My husband and I had just finished our second year of teaching. There
wasn’t much fanfare – only about 50 guests at the college chapel where
we were married, followed by a reception at my grandmother’s home (my
dad’s mom) in the neighboring town where I grew up.<br />
<br />
This was all
by design. It was a beautiful, warm day in June. I’d made my dress,
1960s style—of simple white cotton piqué. My flowers were beautiful
pink peonies from both grandmothers’ gardens. I remember people saying
it was one of the best weddings they’d attended. It was simple. The
church ladies cooked. And it rained.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-21491" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/StrawberryFieldsDeGroots2012_edited-2.jpg" height="225" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/StrawberryFieldsDeGroots2012_edited-2.jpg" width="288" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer begins in the strawberry fields</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
This
year, I was thinking about all the favorite traditions of June. Not
just our anniversary –and how could all those years possibly have gone
by already – but the wonderful memories of many Junes.<br />
<br />
<b>Do you ever mark your summers by the fruits of the season?</b>
Strawberries and rhubarb come to mind – fruits of early summer. Since
moving to Livingston County (40 anniversaries ago), rarely a June passes
without a trip to DeGroot’s Strawberries.<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
Thankfully, those juicy,
red jewels produced -- despite Michigan’s cockeyed winter-spring.I
managed two excursions this year: One with my husband and his dad (who,
at 95, loves to pick berries and was glad to have arrived from Florida
in time for the annual trek to the berry patch), and the other by
myself. I felt compelled to just to be alone in the strawberry fields,
to savor the joy of picking and packing that beautiful box of berries.<br />
<br />
<b>Rhubarb was more the fruit of my youth</b>.
There was an abundance of it (between my parents’ farm, the neighbors,
and my grandmother’s garden). My mom and her mom were noted for their
rhubarb cream pie; and, to this day, it’s a family favorite. Yet, now,
we never have enough of it around.<br />
<br />
Except this June, my husband brought
home freezer bags of rhubarb, thoughtfully given by someone at work,
already cut up in just the right amount for pies.<br />
<br />
This is rare…having a good quantity of both fruits at the same time.<br />
<br />
<b>My father-in-law said he’d always liked strawberry rhubarb.</b>
I was in a dilemma. I wanted to make the traditional family rhubarb
cream pie recipe – not the usual strawberry/rhubarb combo. So I tried
putting about one-third strawberries in with the rhubarb and creamy
filling. Personally, I don’t think it turned out so great.<br />
<br />
I think I’ll
stick with straight rhubarb for that recipe.Just as I’d put away my
sewing from my early years, I’d put away my pie making in the last
decade or so. But, the rhubarb kept calling me to make pies – not sauce.
Finally, I dug out my mom’s old church cookbook. There it was: Rhubarb
Cream Pie.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dreaming of a rhubarb patch...a lone plant, just a teaser</td></tr>
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Strawberries
always meant shortcake, sauce, or just sliced with cream in our family.
We’ve never raved about strawberry pie – even the crown prince of
strawberry pies: the deep red, mile-high gelatin pie , loaded with big
berries and swirled with whipped cream, that everyone craved and
expected to be served at our church chicken barbecue in days gone by.<br />
<br />
<b>What they begged for at my home-town church dinners and festivals, when I was growing up, was the rhubarb cream pie. </b><br />
Of
course, now, that would be a “no-no” for a church dinner, since it’s a
cream pie. Sad. Yes, I’m glad for those memories of rhubarb cream
pie…always a family request for gatherings when my mom was still alive.<br />
<br />
And,
could anything be sweeter in June, than to be feasting on rhubarb pie
and/or strawberry shortcake while lazing in front of a television
broadcast of our Detroit Tigers Baseball Team – especially when the
summer season seems to be kicking in full steam, finally, at last, for
them?<br />
<br />
Speaking of <i>berry, </i>what about that Quintin Berry?
What a spark of enthusiasm the “upstart rookie” (MLB sports writer
Anthony Castrovince calls him) brings to the Tigers this season. He’s
fun to watch. Berry enjoys “playing” on the baseball fields as much as I
enjoy playing in the strawberry patch. He plays for the joy of the
game; and I hope the joy lasts. That’s a beautiful example of playing
your heart out -- an inspiration for us all.<br />
<br />
<b>Those are some summer traditions I love: </b>Baseball,
strawberries and rhubarb, and always the June anniversary. And I
wonder, what will the next five dazzling summers bring? This one seems
particularly energetic. Have you felt it?<br />
<br />
Summer seems sizzling
already. I knew it when a monster dragonfly swooped down in front of my
car windshield on my solo day in the berry patch, welcoming me as I
tooled up the entrance drive.<br />
<br />
I love dragonflies in summer…and fireflies.With
the heat ramping up, fireflies are out in sparkling splendor -- darting
neon lights to accompany me on a mid-summer eve stroll through the
trees. A few mosquitoes may tag along, too. But, they don’t keep me
from getting out for a twilight walk. Summer is too short not to get
outside and breathe in the fresh evening air.<br />
<br />
Walking is one
tradition I began rather late in life. But as each anniversary, each
lovely summer zooms by, I’m ever more grateful that I can participate in
the activity. I plan to keep on walking and keeping my favorite summer
traditions going for as long as I can. I’d like to keep summer sizzling,
dazzling, beautiful, for as long as possible.<br />
<br />
(Pub. June 26, 2012 at www.thelivingstonpost.com) <br />
<br />
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<br />SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-45019061828797231162012-09-08T20:13:00.001-07:002012-09-08T20:27:19.942-07:00Writing from your heart when nothing is there may surprise and amaze you <b><i>“Creativity demands nothing less than all you have. Talent alone is never enough.” ~ Erica Jong</i></b><br />
<br />
Writing
your heart out sounds wonderful, therapeutic, and brain-enhancing. But
what happens if a writer in search of a blog -- because it’s time for a
new spin, an update – keeps ignoring the usual call to the desktop,
because that brain is hovering in blank-slate mode?<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Writing your heart out may be scary, but what you learn can be amazing</td></tr>
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<br />
What
if she’s always telling everyone that she never has a problem with
writing – something. Nope, never a problem. Until one day, she does
have a problem. Writing. Anything.<br />
<br />
How embarrassing to think of
yourself as a creative person (having studied up on the topic in recent
years), only to find yourself casting for ideas for an immediate
posting. And, then, in desperation, grabbing an empty tea box you’ve
saved (you know, the ones with the great quotes) because your eyes land
on it, and remembering you saved it because of the quote that maybe you
could write about – sometime.<br />
<br />
Then you wonder, what could be the
possible significance at the moment you’re grasping for a blog topic,
when you turn the box over and the quote is all about creativity? When
creative is the very thing you’re not feeling. Hmmm.<br />
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Furthermore,
when you mull over the meaning of the words of Erica Jong, you have to
agree with her. Because in the not-being-able-to write-your-heart-out
moment, you realize that creativity does demand all you have; and
certainly going on talent alone won’t cut it.<br />
<br />
I suppose most
journalists understand this intuitively. After all, we’re used to
writing for a deadline. Words must be created and hopefully be creative
enough to influence the target audience -- our readers. While scary,
it’s fun to do what I just did, and maybe even be glad your mind is a
blank slate.<br />
<br />
Writing truly is therapeutic. If you write from your
heart, in the spirit of what comes from there, the exercise is
therapeutic. It enhances your brain activity; and it can teach you
something -- if you’re willing to tune in to what your spirit is trying
to tell you. With nothing on your mind when you begin writing, you’ll
find it’s fascinating to see what comes up.<br />
<br />
In experimenting with
impromptu writing about a found object, or someone’s quote as a
jumping-off place (my example), you become an artist putting words
together, observing them flow a design onto your page as a paintbrush on
a canvas, and then into the hearts of those who see it.<br />
<br />
Writing
from your heart when nothing is there may surprise and amaze you. Never
knowing where the brush, or pen or computer keys will lead you -- but
trusting in the outcome -- you’ll find you’re using all you have at the
moment. Your talent is sufficient, because you’re sharing your authentic
self in that moment.<br />
<br />
You learn something by the simple act of putting
the words down; and you discover that the something you had no idea of
writing about, could be exactly what someone needs to read.<br />
<br />
The most amazing discovery, however, is that you are writing from the heart, after all.<br />
<br />
(Pub. June 12, 2012 at www.TheLivingstonPost.com)SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-71213784191628760102012-07-27T19:52:00.002-07:002012-07-27T20:12:00.960-07:00'Over Troubled Water': Still building bridges 10 years later<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<i><b>By Susan G Parcheta </b></i> </div>
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(Pub. @ www.thelivingstonpost.com May, 17, 2012)</div>
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Ten years after Sept. 11, 2001 I wonder, “Have we made any progress on this planet?”</div>
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Each Memorial Day we think of such marker events in our history. The following is a reflection I wrote in the months following 9-11. Reading through it again, a decade later, I find still haunting reminders -- besides the lyrics of Paul Simon’s song -- that we’ve a long way to go on our journey toward peace in this Age of Aquarius.</div>
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So the music lives on…<i>Bridge over Troubled Water.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>See what you think. How much has changed? Is there time for building bridges? What happens if we don’t?<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/over-troubled-water-still-building-bridges-10-years-later/trolley-mackinac-bridge-labor-day-2007-p1020709_edited-2/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/over-troubled-water-still-building-bridges-10-years-later/trolley-mackinac-bridge-labor-day-2007-p1020709_edited-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-19788"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-19788" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Trolley-Mackinac-Bridge-Labor-Day-2007-P1020709_edited-2.jpg" height="300" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Trolley-Mackinac-Bridge-Labor-Day-2007-P1020709_edited-2.jpg" style="border: 0px none; float: right;" width="400" /></a></div>
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I’m thinking that, in 2012, it’s time to ramp up the construction. May each of us be the bridge we seek over troubled water. One by one, we can make a difference in our corner of the world. </div>
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The ripple effect builds into a tsunami; and together the waves create a cleansing and renewing global shift, where peaceful waters flow beneath those bridges that we’ve built.</div>
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<b>On Sept. 11, 2001,</b> there was a call for unity and love to prevail. There was a collective will to transcend the divisions. Why, then, does our world seem even more volatile in 2012? Why is everything either black and white or red and blue? Why this polarity in our culture? Haven’t we been there, done that? When, for heaven’s sake, will we take the quantum leap?</div>
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Yes, there is much work to do, miles to go before we sleep… bridges to build, bridges to trolley across -- together.</div>
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May we daily be inspired into action; and, so inspired -- imagine. Imagine what extraordinary thing might we do?</div>
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<b>Over Troubled Water</b></div>
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<b><i>By Susan G Parcheta</i></b> </div>
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(Pub. In the May/June 2002 issue of Horton’s Mid-Michigan Reader)</div>
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Paul Simon’s haunting lyrics in<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Bridge over Troubled Water<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>washed over our souls again during the celebrity telethon for the victims of Sept. 11, 2001. Topping the charts three decades ago, it continues to sooth our collective cry for a bridge to some place safe…somewhere to ease our minds.<br />
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Most every American’s life was affected by the events of 9-11. Each of us lives our evolving story. In time we absorb and process its magnitude. And, as the passing weeks distance us from the horror, we resolve to trudge over our bridges, over our own troubled waters…to make a connection of hope on the other side.</div>
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I recall that week, written in another column, spent visiting our son at college in the Keweenaw. On the remote shores of Lake Superior the processing began. I thought of bridges as Michigan natives think of them. We like our<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Mighty Mackinac –<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>seamlessly bridging our two peninsulas.</div>
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Weeks drifted along. I took note of my mail – all the while thinking of anthrax. Most letters from organizations began with words about “the horrible tragedy in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.” Usually they’d mention that it “shocked us into taking another look at what’s really important in our lives.”</div>
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The events seemed closer because our daughter and son-in-law were spending a year in Virginia, while he took courses at Quantico Marine Corps base. We were hesitant about our planned visit in early November. That was a quiet weekend in Washington, DC – falling between the Marine Marathon and Veteran’s Day. Still, it was merely a month after Sept. 11.</div>
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By then, gathering courage, we made the pilgrimage. We spent a day in the city. If we took the subway, said daughter Marya, we could park at the end of the line at Franconia Station and not contend with the Beltway or parking downtown. The subway ride was eerily calm.</div>
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A copy of the day’s<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Washington Post<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>was left on our corner seat. It was still there on the return trip. I wondered about the synchronicity. I took it home.</div>
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That day, at museum checkpoints, security guards poked into purses and backpacks. Cops seemed present on every corner. The quietness was both surreal and unsettling.</div>
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Lunch at “Hawk & Dove” made me think of the political changes since my first visit to D.C. as a high school senior, when JFK and Jackie were in the White House.</div>
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At the Air and Space Museum I paused to watch the JFK video. I listened again to his “man to the moon” speech, while a special choir sang<i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>America the Beautiful<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>on the floor below.</div>
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The lilting tones wafted up to accompany my reverie of those times. Wasn’t it just a moment ago?</div>
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Sunday we drove past the gaping hole in the Pentagon. I imagined the plane flying over the highway bridge, over the troubled waters of the Potomac, into it.</div>
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And I felt Lilliputian – in a miniature dream village – vulnerable to the giant of uncertainty.</div>
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It helped to spend a sunny afternoon at Mt. Vernon. Perhaps going back to the beginning, to the first president – thinking what our founders faced over their troubled waters – would help me gain perspective.</div>
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I thought of mountains to prairies to oceans. We’d traveled 500 miles in opposite directions from our home since 9-11…spanning the distance from our northern border to the southeast coast. I wondered if we could ever visit New York.</div>
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On our next trip this past March, travelers were beginning to return to D.C. like the cherry blossoms. The subway was jammed at rush hour. Restaurants were bustling, as was the fish market. Folks lined up early for the newly-refurbished Washington Monument tour. School groups were back in town.</div>
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As we headed past the construction site for the World War II Memorial, a helicopter flew over our heads. Our daughter said that was the presidential one.</div>
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Museum security guards continued to check bags, and at the Old Post Office building, the Clock Tower, a metal detector and police officers greeted us at the entrance.</div>
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That week Americans were asking how we’ve changed six months after 9-11. “Where were you when the world stopped turning that September day?” sang Alan Jackson in a March 11<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Today Show</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>visit. He sang of faith and hope and love.</div>
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The “Tower of Light” kept vigil over New York – an after-image of the Twin Towers -- in remembrance for awhile.</div>
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A mission organization flyer described peace and justice as the twin towers of our faith. There, I decided, is the after-image…a bridge of peace and justice.</div>
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If you’re thinking of going to Washington D.C. this summer, yes, go there. Do it to ease your mind. Do it to reconnect with your heritage. Each traveler’s visit, I believe, helps reclaim our hallowed ground.</div>
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For my generation, Sept. 11 bookmarks two unthinkable events. On a wind-whipped day at Arlington, I reflected on Nov. 22, 1963. JFK gunned down…shattering my youthful idealism.</div>
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Again, the unthinkable happened on 9-11. How are the youth of today handling that? Do they feel as vulnerable? Will they withdraw, or will we discover a new internationalism?</div>
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At the Smithsonian, I noticed significant numbers of people from other countries. Were they thinking that venerable institutions might offer a clue to our global dilemma?</div>
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As for me, revisiting D.C. energized and restored a frazzled connection to my homeland and all that its<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Star Spangled Banner<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></i>embraces.</div>
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Like a bridge over troubled water I will lay me down. </div>
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The bridge, I’ve discovered is me.</div>
SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-54729029112737913712012-05-15T12:21:00.000-07:002012-05-15T12:21:04.678-07:00Kindle your heart with 'Illuminara' art<div style="color: #3d85c6; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman','Bitstream Charter',Times,serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
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<b><em> By Susan G Parcheta</em></b></div>
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<b><em>April 27, 2012</em></b></div>
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<b><em>at <a href="http://www.thelivingstonpost.com/">TheLivingstonPost</a></em></b></div>
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<b><em>A far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light in the darkness of mere being." Carl Jung</em></b></div>
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Visual artist Elaine Clayton kindles our hearts, as she engages our imagination, sparks our intuition and illumines our dreams in her book<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Illuminara Intuitive Journal with Cards.<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/kindle-your-heart-with-illuminara-art/179860_492697498494_287402923494_6166341_6858457_n-1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/kindle-your-heart-with-illuminara-art/179860_492697498494_287402923494_6166341_6858457_n-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-19185"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-19185" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/179860_492697498494_287402923494_6166341_6858457_n-1.jpg" height="370" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/179860_492697498494_287402923494_6166341_6858457_n-1.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" width="252" /></a></em><em></em></div>
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“Imagination is the playscape of our intuitive self,” says Clayton; it’s through our imagination that we find meaning in our experiences, as well as creative solutions to life’s problems.</div>
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<em>Illuminara<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>features a journaling section and a set of 40 cards of her art pieces – paintings and sketches that work in tandem. The art serves as a tool to bring forth the heart of our intuition and dreams via this visual medium. It’s an interactive technique, as we can then journal our experience with the cards, jogging our personal memories – the insights from which assist us in discovering answers to life’s situations and challenges.</div>
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“The idea is to pick one,” Clayton explains, “and allow the flow to wash through you and write down all the feelings and memories that float to you from inside. Then when you pick a card like ‘lemons’--you know what you felt and what your associations are.”</div>
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While I’ve enjoyed the book and cards since its publication last year, I decided to draw a card specifically for writing this reflection. In interacting with the Cloud Card, I realized that the image brought up a number of things -- both about me, and about Clayton’s work.</div>
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<strong><em>As above, so below. As within, so without. As the Universe, so the Soul. ~ Hermetic Dictum</em></strong></div>
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<strong>I found it interesting that I’d drawn the Cloud Card, because the author and I share a similar fasc</strong>ination with clouds. For me, clouds represent the “as above, so below” principle and my personal outlook on life and my world.</div>
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Cloud formations entrance me, compelling me -- since childhood -- to watch them move across the sky. Clouds fascinate me; their artistry comforts me and inspires me. Clouds cool me under the blazing summer sun. They dissipate and they disappear, leaving the sky a miraculous blue sea. They build and billow up, creating powerful storms that challenge...and leave us transfixed with the rainbows that follow.</div>
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<dl class="wp-caption alignright" data-mce-style="width: 310px;" id="attachment_19199" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image: initial; border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center; width: 310px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/kindle-your-heart-with-illuminara-art/bruinlakecloudswan042612img_1681_edited-1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/kindle-your-heart-with-illuminara-art/bruinlakecloudswan042612img_1681_edited-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-19199"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-19199 " data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/BruinLakeCloudSwan042612IMG_1681_edited-1-300x193.jpg" height="193" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/BruinLakeCloudSwan042612IMG_1681_edited-1-300x193.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="300" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 0px;">"As above, so below" -- continued reflections on the artistry of cloud formations</dd></dl>
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<em>As above, so below: </em>Clouds<em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>reflect the light of life, of love; and I love that they are above me, designing “playscapes” in the sky. I love that they affect me daily as I wander the earth below.</div>
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<em>Illuminara’s<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em> cloud card mesmerizes in its simplicity. Your eye can’t help but focus on the gigantic cloud formation, hovering against an almost cobalt sky above the stark beauty of the scene below. A tiny white house with black roof, lines up with a stretch of black power line along the narrow strip of spring green field that follows the horizon – compelling you to gaze at the cloud formation, to reflect on the subtle interchange of rose and citron yellow illuminating its presence.</div>
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The same day that I drew the cloud card, this quote appeared in an email newsletter from author Susan Gregg’s<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Daily Reflections:</em></div>
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<dl class="wp-caption alignright" data-mce-style="width: 310px;" id="attachment_19188" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image: initial; border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center; width: 310px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/kindle-your-heart-with-illuminara-art/clouds-illuminara-042612/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/kindle-your-heart-with-illuminara-art/clouds-illuminara-042612/" rel="attachment wp-att-19188"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-19188" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Clouds-Illuminara-042612-300x224.jpg" height="224" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Clouds-Illuminara-042612-300x224.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="300" /></a></dt>
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Also, that same day on my daily walk, I discovered a tiny white fuzz ball in a tree trunk. It might have been the fur from a bunny, or maybe the fuzz from a seed pod. I couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter, because I made the connection in my mind and heart with the cloud image that I’d been exploring that day.</div>
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For me, it was a cloud in miniature…a Lilliputian cloudlet; and in happening upon it, the tiny fuzz ball “cloud” opened up even more symbolism. It reminded me of the bunny tales I’d loved as a child. It felt like the fur of our 19-year-old white cat, Kiki, who likes to nap by my keyboard.</div>
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It was the size of a cottonball. Why do we call clouds cottonballs, sometimes? Sometimes clouds look like cottonballs, or at sunset – like cotton candy. In the cloud card, Clayton draws us inward – to reflect on the simplicity of such ordinary, yet exquisite, beauty around us.</div>
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Describing the power of Clayton’s art, Dr. Henry Reed – director of the Edgar Cayce Institute for Intuitive Studies writes: “Through compelling imagery, Elaine stirs our collective and personal unconscious, leading us to deeper intuitive intelligence, and outward toward creative expression.”</div>
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Clayton lives with her husband and two sons in Connecticut and offers art-based programs and workshops for individuals and groups of all ages.</div>
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A former teacher, she holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting and drawing, as well as a Master of Fine Arts from the New York City School of Visual Arts.</div>
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She is author and illustrator of several books for children:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>A Blue Ribbon for Sugar, The Yeoman’s Daring Daughter<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em> <em>and the Princess in the Tower, Ella’s Trip to the Museum, and Pup in School.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>She's also illustrated for Pulitzer Prize winning author Jane Smiley's book series.</div>
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<em> </em>Clayton is an intuitive reader and a Reiki master – the ancient Japanese healing art, a gentle touch therapy. She enjoys creating<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Spirit Paintings<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em> for her clients, and also working with film art.</div>
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She describes her work,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.intuitive-connections.net/2010/gesturedrawing.html" href="http://www.intuitive-connections.net/2010/gesturedrawing.html">“Gesture Drawing”</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>in an article written for the Intuitive<em>-Connections Newsletter/ Edgar Cayce Institute for Intuitive Studies.</em></div>
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The article,<em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Intuition and Art: Drawing Out Empathic Intelligence,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>highlights her method of gesture drawing “as a way to encourage intuitive, empathic feeling and knowledge among school children,” via a group setting, allowing them to feel free to draw without criticism.</div>
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In her book, Clayton acknowledges the influence of her family – all of whom are highly intuitive, musical and artistic – and of her father, who was an osteopathic physician. “He trained me to examine details and more importantly, how to use my feelings, intuitive intelligence, and spiritual eagerness to better understand my life.”</div>
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Now, Clayton enjoys doing her part to awaken intuition through art. As she puts it, “there is no way to truly destroy this intuitive wellspring of potential within each of us, but for some reason our society can do a pretty good job of stunting it. Drawing to draw out intelligence is for me, the core of my life as an artist and teacher, as an intuitive reader and healer.”</div>
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“Intuition is about leading with the heart,” Clayton observes, “and I believe we all have these abilities, but are encouraged by the world around us from early on to ignore our heartfelt guidance, or ‘quiet knowing.’ “</div>
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With the Illuminara Journal with Cards, her art becomes a tool we can use to activate our inner knowing and self-fulfillment – a tool to nurture our intuitive intelligence – by going inward. “We begin a journey of asking,” she says, followed by “receiving, looking and being open to finding.”</div>
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<em>“L</em>iving an intuitive life means that we are open to our heart-felt responses, and to following these heart-felt messages.”</div>
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How often we hear the advice to listen to our inner voice. Clayton urges us to do so, and to do so with a sense of adventure.</div>
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By taking time to visit with each card and recording the memories or feelings it brings up in us, we discover our unique impressions of symbols – such as apples, or lemons…or clouds.</div>
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Journaling helps process these insights and intuitive feelings. We are then learning “our own pictorial language, which becomes “our wondrous virtual inner library.”</div>
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We can then venture out – into our world -- having this personal visual library to draw on, able to access the meanings that we’ve found ourselves attributing to the symbols in the art pieces.</div>
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Clayton suggests ways you can use or “play” with the cards for personal illumination and problem solving, as well as a tool for bridging the gap between the imagination and creativity.</div>
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Sometimes our creative acts need an assist; and the cards, she suggests, offer another tool to nudge us forward. Even picking two cards can be a fun way to spur the creative muse – by discovering, perhaps, “a strange and unexpected relationship between the two cards and the issue at hand.”</div>
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<em> </em><em><strong>You may follow Clayton’s work<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong></em>at her online open sketchbook<a data-mce-href="http://www.illuminara.com/" href="http://www.illuminara.com/">, Illuminara,</a><em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>where you’ll find her daily postings of art, wit and spiritual wisdom. Clayton loves to engage with readers there, as well as on her<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Illuminara<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>Facebook page.</div>
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She’s currently enjoying interviews about her book and her work, as well as book signing appearances, often in enchanting places, such as the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-mce-href="http://www.illuminara.com/2012/04/27/cafe-jonah-and-the-magical-attic-this-tuesday/" href="http://www.illuminara.com/2012/04/27/cafe-jonah-and-the-magical-attic-this-tuesday/">Café Jonah and the Magical Attic in Atlanta</a>.</div>
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Elaine Clayton works her own magic with<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Illuminara. S</em>he’s an artist who speaks and paints to the tune of intuition and dreams. In<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Illuminara –<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>both in her book and her online sketchbook -- she invites us<em><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em>to explore that magical realm…kindling the "wonderful, dynamic playscape within."</div>
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<em><strong> </strong></em><strong>Links for artist Elaine Clayton and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Illuminara art:</em></strong></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.intuitive-connections.net/2010/gesturedrawing.html" href="http://www.intuitive-connections.net/2010/gesturedrawing.html"><em>Gesture Drawing </em>article on Intuitive Connections Network</a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.intuitive-connections.net/2010/gesturedrawing.html" href="http://www.intuitive-connections.net/2010/gesturedrawing.html" target="_blank">http://www.intuitive-connections.net/2010/gesturedrawing.html</a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVc8xRnUKq8&feature=player_embedded#t=0s" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVc8xRnUKq8&feature=player_embedded#t=0s">Illuminara Channel Film: I Hear You – bird at the window</a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.hayhouseradio.com/episode_details.php?show_id=149&episode_id=7776" href="http://www.hayhouseradio.com/episode_details.php?show_id=149&episode_id=7776">Hay House Radio Interview with Eldon Taylor</a><em></em></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.illuminara.com/" href="http://www.illuminara.com/">Elaine Clayton’s<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Illuminara website</em></a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Illuminara-Intuitive-Journal-With-Cards/dp/0764337505/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1334889557&sr=1-1-catcorr" href="http://www.amazon.com/Illuminara-Intuitive-Journal-With-Cards/dp/0764337505/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1334889557&sr=1-1-catcorr">Illuminara on Amazon</a></div>
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<br /></div>SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-88603513826960724212012-05-15T12:15:00.003-07:002012-05-15T12:15:42.276-07:00Yesterday's Coffee: 'Joe' in the morning<div class="mceTemp" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<dl class="wp-caption alignright" data-mce-style="width: 226px;" id="attachment_18899" style="background-color: #f3f3f3; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-image: initial; border-left-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: center; width: 226px;">
<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/yesterdays-coffee-joe-in-the-morning/joeinthemorning-img_1520_edited-2/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/yesterdays-coffee-joe-in-the-morning/joeinthemorning-img_1520_edited-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-18899"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-18899" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Joeinthemorning-IMG_1520_edited-2.jpg" height="197" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Joeinthemorning-IMG_1520_edited-2.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="216" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 0px;">'Coffee from Hell' and a little bit of Easter egg fun</dd></dl>
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<i>By Susan G Parcheta</i></div>
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<i>April 12, 2012 at <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_397923427">TheLivingstonPost </a></i><a href="http://www.thelivingstonpost.com/"> </a></div>
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“Morning Joe” commercial caught my eye this morning, causing me to flee to the computer keys.</div>
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I’d flicked on the MSNBC TV show, which I rarely have time to watch, to catch a few news notes. Seeing the coffee cup logo, with the creamy coffee spilling, I remembered I didn’t have a new blog up for The Livingston Post. So, I grabbed my mug o’ Joe and got to plunking out some notes of my own.</div>
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My blog, of course, is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><em>Yesterday’s Coffee.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em> As time goes by, that title seems to fit my lifestyle. It seems comfortable and homey. I like to think that my writing is that way. I like to imagine it having that effect on the folks who happen upon it.</div>
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I picture them around the table with me (a big, round old-fashioned oak table) sharing a great cup of Joe and a good story. Truth is, I’m much better with words written. Around the table, I’m apt to listen more than speak. It takes a lot of coffee to get me into a chatterbox mode. But, on paper, or online, my stories can grow into “Suenamis” -- with the potential to inundate and overwhelm.</div>
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Interestingly, one of my favorite coffee mugs involves the sea. It depicts a quiet scene with two lounge chairs and table between. It’s a garden seaside setting -- with flowers and butterflies in the foreground, a seagull, a sailboat, and a lighthouse on an island in the distance.</div>
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I love that mug because it reminds me of a workshop on reviving our creative spirit that I attended four years ago. I’d picked up that mug at a seaside marina gift shop in Maryland, while visiting our daughter afterwards.</div>
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For some reason, I’m attracted to mugs and fridge magnets as souvenirs of my travels. The mugs, I guess, are pretty, but practical and usable; they also call up memories of places visited. You could say they bring back memories of “yesterday’s coffee” times, too.</div>
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My sister, when visiting recently, picked out that mug, I noticed. There’s something about it that makes you want to kick back and relax with your coffee. When I have it in hand, I do believe I feel the serenity and the beauty of the artist’s work. Perhaps, then, that transfers to how I feel about what I’m working on.</div>
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Who knows? It could make an interesting experiment – observing how you feel with different coffee mugs or teacups. Do we feel different when drinking from a solid mug or a delicate porcelain teacup? I think we do.</div>
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Well, I do know that my sister and I were definitely having fun with coffee mugs as souvenirs. She’d never been to our county hotspot, Hell, Michigan. We were driving nearby one day on her visit, and took a little detour through Hell.</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/yesterdays-coffee-joe-in-the-morning/welcometohellimg_1511_edited-1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/yesterdays-coffee-joe-in-the-morning/welcometohellimg_1511_edited-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-18909"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-18909" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/WelcomeToHellIMG_1511_edited-1.jpg" height="151" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/WelcomeToHellIMG_1511_edited-1.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" width="288" /></a></div>
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The community, while small, is nestled in a beautiful setting of rolling woodland – the road to it winding around wonderful lakes and creeks, making the area a favorite for motorcyclists, kayakers, hikers and cyclists. The day was warm for April and the sunshine was brilliant. We posed for pictures, naturally, faces smiling in the hilarious signs behind Screams souvenir shop.</div>
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I told owner John Colone that I felt like a tourist that day, even though I’ve been there many times. But it was fun pretending that I hadn’t; it was fun, too, combing through the souvenirs with my sister, and all the other tourists enjoying the novelty of the place.</div>
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Then, I spotted the perfect mug. A mug just for fun, or for days when I’m feeling a bit prickly, perhaps, and things aren’t going so serenely.</div>
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<em>Aha!<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em> A coffee mug from Hell. A mug that says “Coffee from Hell” – I love it. This mug is in stark contrast to my seaside serenity mug. This mug is simply heavy and black with red lettering. Now, I’m wondering if I might be writing with an attitude when it’s alongside, filled with yesterday’s coffee…from Hell, no less.</div>
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We’ll see what transpires, as I think I could be on to something.</div>
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“Which mug shall I choose today?” Could have implications, like, “What color would be best to wear today?”</div>
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Or, “Should I have tea?” “What kind of day do I want this to be?”</div>
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Think about it. The choices we make. Yesterday’s coffee… and the stories that came with it … becomes tomorrow’s news. What to choose… each day is different. It’s up to me, I think, to discover its muse.</div>
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<br /></div>SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-5333657143690295692012-03-29T21:49:00.002-07:002012-03-29T21:49:54.993-07:00The spotlight's on Timeline: Whose? Facebook's or mine?<br />
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<b><i>By Susan G Parcheta</i></b></div>
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<em>Follow us on Facebook.</em></div>
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My eyes caught the familiar invitation on the bottom of a catalog I brought in with the daily mail. Probably it grabbed my attention because my attention has been on my waning days for Facebook Timeline. Waning… for me to get on board.</div>
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/the-spotlights-on-timeline-whose-facebooks-or-mine/112311-first-snow-1201011218a/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/the-spotlights-on-timeline-whose-facebooks-or-mine/112311-first-snow-1201011218a/" rel="attachment wp-att-18514"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-18514" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/112311-first-snow-1201011218a-300x225.jpg" height="225" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/112311-first-snow-1201011218a-300x225.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="300" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 0px;">The spotlight's on my Facebook Timeline</dd></dl>
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The spotlight is definitely on Timeline among my Facebook friends. Just as I was thinking I’d better schedule time to fiddle with it before it fiddles with me, one of my longtime Facebook friends announced she was quitting the whole thing. Apparently she’d gotten notice that her time for Timeline had arrived. She said, “No.”</div>
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No more time left to resist, so she quit. She’d had it with Timeline -- especially being forced on people.</div>
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That same day another person wrote in a group page inviting 600 friends to protest the whole thing. </div>
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“That’s interesting,” I said to myself. “And she is an entertainer.” Her reasoning sounded good. She doesn’t like the layout, and says it reminds people of My Space and doesn’t load well on mobile devices.</div>
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That same day, my daughter requested me to be a friend of her new business page. This is the daughter who dragged her feet to get on Facebook, until this year. Now, the company she works for created a Facebook business page. It looks wonderful. Crisp. Organized. Of course, that’s what a marketing person expects.</div>
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When I got the request to like the page, I called her back to explain about my friend quitting because of Timeline. We debated it for awhile. My daughter realized that Timeline was coming. She also figures it will screw up the look of their page. Maybe.</div>
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Meanwhile, my friend who quit loves art. She has enjoyed being on Facebook for keeping in touch with friends, sharing photos, sharing philosophical thoughts, discovering other artists. Facebook is a good place for artists and writers and entertainers and business folks to interact.</div>
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But, in the space of a day, an artist, two entertainers, a business marketing person and me (the writer) had a virtual conversation -- albeit via email and phone -- about this crazy Timeline thing.</div>
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<strong>My entertainer friend said she didn’t want to use Timeline</strong> because it’s hard to read and she misses a lot of notifications on it. I miss most of mine, anyway. So, it probably won’t matter.</div>
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My artist friend, who quit, said this -- which I found very insightful:</div>
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“I noticed that over the past few months, since Timeline started coming in, that most people didn’t seem to be posting anything ‘real’ anymore – just motivational/de-motivational type sayings in boxes with different fonts and pictures or requests from games. Add to that, the randomness of what you saw on your wall and it all added to the increased sense of isolation and a real sense of drifting.”</div>
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Another point she makes is that, if there is no real alternative, “they don’t seem to expect you to leave no matter what they do to mess things up.” I suppose we could all agree on that.</div>
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What are the alternatives?</div>
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I’ve gone from a tentative Facebook consumer four years ago [oops! I might need Timeline to remind me when I actually started Facebook!], when the only friends I had were the friends of my kids (because all the adults my age were spoofing being on Facebook), to really finding the value of it as a networking, marketing, personal growth tool.</div>
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Now, why would Facebook want to mess this up for people? Surely, they can figure out how to make the Timeline palatable for people of all types. At the moment, I find it looks scattered and is hard to find things. It seems more of a picture place. After I read my friend’s note about the wall pictures and motivational stuff, I realized that she’s right. Subconsciously, I had noticed that.</div>
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My son’s girlfriend likes it, she says, because of that -- because of the way it shows pictures. My hairdresser says the same thing. So, maybe that’s the key. Maybe I’ll just have to get with the graphics. I’ve experimented with a page I have that has the new Timeline; and so far I haven’t been that wild about it. Perhaps Facebook will tweak until they get it to where most everyone will be happy.</div>
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<strong>So, what are the alternatives to networking without Facebook?</strong> So many writers, artists, entertainers use it as a gathering place for their work. Heavens, movements are born on Facebook. How do you get along without it? What other central web place is there? That enough people are on to make it worthwhile?</div>
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The editor of this blogspace has Timeline. Her page looks attractive. Maybe she’ll write a blog about how to best use Timeline. I’m sure my daughter’s company will revamp their look to suit the new format. We who stay will, because we realize the power of social networking and marketing online.</div>
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Whether you are an artist, a writer, an entertainer, a business or an institution – Facebook has become the world’s gathering place. For some, it’s even an oasis from that world. A place to be inspired, find other kindred spirits, express yourself creatively. (At least that’s how my friend used to enjoy it before Timeline).</div>
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The same day she announced her withdrawal, I was reminded about family on Facebook, as well. I received a message from my nephew, who’d been thinking about how we needed to get together, because, “It’s been too long.” Facebook provided a convenient place for that message. And, of course, I can keep up with all the new baby pictures from nieces and nephews. While, I don’t have time to spend perusing the pages, I’d still miss not being able to go them if I desired.</div>
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Now that I’m paying attention, I notice daily that a few more are climbing aboard the Timeline train. Today I was informed that 144 of my friends have succumbed. However, not to panic – that‘s only half of my intimate FB family of 300 plus friends. So I feel much better, already.</div>
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Interestingly, I read one of those health mag nuggets about some study showing that the more Facebook friends you have, the more gray matter you have in key areas of the brain. Hmmm. That’s something to consider, as well. Gather ye Facebook friends; it’s good for the brain?</div>
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<strong>I don’t know how much “timeline” I have left</strong> before the FB captains come calling to drag me to mine. I found a link while googling, to MSNBC’s tech blog, that I’m posting here. <a data-mce-href="http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/facebook-timeline-theres-no-escaping-it-now-84762" href="http://www.technolog.msnbc.msn.com/technology/technolog/facebook-timeline-theres-no-escaping-it-now-84762">“Timeline: There’s no escaping it”</a> How much longer do I have? Or should I just bite the bullet and dive in before I’m kicked off the gangplank.</div>
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My friend quit, rather than be forced to walk it. It’s a matter of principles, she said; and she decided to stick with her principles. I will miss her, though. I can’t go visit; she lives in England. Perhaps there is someplace more agreeable than Facebook where we may gather. Apparently, that once convenient FB spot, where we were happy-ever-aftering isn’t such a Camelot.</div>
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<em>Follow us on Facebook. </em> Hopefully, the feelings of FB followers will be considered. Meanwhile, I’m on the lookout for complementary or alternative venues for gathering and keeping in touch.</div>
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Yes, it’s time to explore a little bit more, beyond the comfortable Facebook oasis, and see what’s shimmering on the horizon.</div>
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<strong>Links</strong></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/24/facebook-timeline_n_1228800.html" href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/24/facebook-timeline_n_1228800.html" title="Huffington Post on Timeline">Huffington Post on Timeline </a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.seattlepi.com/business/press-releases/article/Standard-Marketing-Ltd-Provides-Premier-Tips-on-3445116.php" href="http://www.seattlepi.com/business/press-releases/article/Standard-Marketing-Ltd-Provides-Premier-Tips-on-3445116.php" title="Timeline for Brand Pages">Timeline for Brand Pages</a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/reminder-all-facebook-pages-getting-timeline-tomorrow/11100" href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/facebook/reminder-all-facebook-pages-getting-timeline-tomorrow/11100" title="All Facebook Pages Getting Timeline">All Facebook Pages Getting Timeline</a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-tools/small-business-briefing/are-you-ready-for-facebooks-timeline-switch/article2385497/" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/small-business/sb-tools/small-business-briefing/are-you-ready-for-facebooks-timeline-switch/article2385497/" title="Are you ready for Facebook's Timeline Switch?">Are you ready for Facebook's Timeline switch?</a></div>
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<i>(Published March 30, 2012 at www.thelivingstonpost.com)</i></div>
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<br /></div>SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-66702831663721985422012-03-27T19:22:00.000-07:002012-03-27T19:22:36.109-07:00Yesterday's Coffee: The blog that keeps stirring a 'brew-haha'<br />
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<i><b>By Susan G Parcheta</b></i></div>
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Brouhaha or ‘brew-haha’ -- however you picture it, <em>Yesterday’s Coffee </em>percolates many writing adventures. Some are a bit weak; some are heavy duty; some sweetly reminisce of days gone by. Always, though, it’s fun stirring up some commotion.</div>
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I was thinking about the startup of this blog (in 2009) for <em>Livingston Talk</em>, now <em><a data-mce-href="http://www.thelivingstonpost.com/" href="http://www.thelivingstonpost.com/">The Livingston Post</a></em>, while visiting my husband’s father in Florida last week. It was he, after all, who inspired this title that captured my fancy back then.</div>
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We were downing a leftover pot of coffee before heading out the door. I smiled, thinking of that decision to name my blog <em>Yesterday’s Coffee</em>. It still feels right, as I continue to “measure out my life with coffee spoons” – and plenty of tea bags, too.</div>
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<br /><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/yesterdays-coffee-the-blog-that-keeps-stirring-a-brew-haha/yesterdayscoffeeblog2012img_0965_edited-1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/yesterdays-coffee-the-blog-that-keeps-stirring-a-brew-haha/yesterdayscoffeeblog2012img_0965_edited-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-18309"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-18309" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/YesterdaysCoffeeBlog2012IMG_0965_edited-1.jpg" height="188" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/YesterdaysCoffeeBlog2012IMG_0965_edited-1.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" width="288" /></a></div>
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All beverages work for musing over yesterday’s and tomorrow’s news. For me, though, nothing says loving better than a pot of fresh brewed coffee with family or friends. Unless, it’s yesterday’s coffee. Sometimes yesterday’s coffee creates memorable moments. Like that quick cup with dad before heading off for a day of adventure.</div>
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Or on the trip home to Michigan. While waiting for a Waffle House fresh brew, and because it was late afternoon, and we were waiting, we were given a gigantic tall one to go! We sped off wondering how we’d drink it all. But guess what? Next morning found us removing it from our motel fridge and warming in the micro. It was too early for the continental breakfast; and we were anxious to get on the road. Yesterday’s coffee saved the day, and the driver, again.</div>
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That’s my early 2012 update on <em>Yesterday’s Coffee; h</em>ere’s the original first blog from 2009’s <em>Livingston Talk:</em></div>
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<em><b>Yesterday’s Coffee, Tomorrow’s Muse</b></em></div>
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<b>By Susan Parcheta</b></div>
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<em>“I have measured out my life with coffee spoons.” – T.S. Eliot (From the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock)</em></div>
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Yesterday’s Coffee, as a blog title, has been brewing on the back burner of my mind since last summer, when Maria Stuart of LivingstonTalk.com -- the new online community for Michigan’s Livingston County – asked me to blog. I did, but my blog didn’t have a title; it didn’t really need one at the time. However, that experience got me to wondering. What would I call my blog series, if I wanted to name it?</div>
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Last September my husband and I were camping in northern Michigan with his father. One morning the men got out on the lake early to fish. Of course I’d slept in, so they returned to find only leftover coffee. Our camper has a microwave. We nuked the cold brew before making a new pot; and that’s when my father-in-law suddenly smiled, and came out with some saying about “Yesterday’s Coffee.”</div>
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Whatever he said was catchy; and I’m sure I wrote it down, but can’t find my notes. The gist, though, was that yesterday’s coffee was pretty good -- and that it was an old song title! A song?</div>
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Hmmm, I was thinking. Song or not, that could be a great blog title for me. So, I parked the idea away for a year. And, who knew! Dozens of others had the same idea, I discover. Everyone from a music group on Facebook to another blogger who changed his to “Reheated Coffee” (perhaps we’ll meet up sometime and rehash all this), to forums and surveys about leftover coffee – and, even a website devoted to funny jokes, called “Yesterday’s Coffee.”</div>
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It’s amazing how things work. Once you begin homing in on an idea simmering on the periphery of your consciousness, like pigeons aloft in flight, all manner of facts and events come into view. Get enough of them, and you can make your landing.</div>
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Soon as I decided it was time to focus on my coffee theme, things began popping up. Coffee cup designs decorate the napkins I recently bought; even the paper towels sport coffee quotes. “Wake up and smell the coffee!” Kind of overused, but it will do when in crisis mode.</div>
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“With enough coffee, anything is possible!” That would be my favorite. I truly believe that, especially if the coffee is: chocolate-vanilla-almond-maple-Jamaican-mocha-hazelnut, or some exotic concoction of flavors. If you drink yesterday’s coffee, though, can you be a coffee snob?</div>
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At this point in my life, yesterday’s coffee takes on new meaning. Beyond my own life story of remembered good coffee times, I’m beginning to feel swept up into the current of a very fast moving river. The other day, I was clearing space, making room for my future projects – tomorrow’s muse.</div>
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A wave of amazement flowed over me, realizing a box I was sorting held hundred-year-old letters from my mom’s parents. One piece of antique parchment-colored paper unfolded to reveal a marriage certificate. It’s huge, with cutouts for photos of the bridal couple, and the pastor, as well. No, there are no photos, the paper is worn, and the dates are faint, but I’m sure it says Jan 1, 1900. That blows my mind, of course. I’ll have to check with my cousin, probably the only one of the family left that would know.</div>
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Genealogists must have a field day over cups and cups of yesterday’s coffee. I can picture them reaching for the strongest brew -- reheating it, while propping their eyelids open to go after just one more clue, with detective-like precision and tenacity. Guess that’s why I keep procrastinating. A former co-worker of mine would love to know I found this stuff. She has admonished me time and again for not working on my family tree, figuring it will never happen in her lifetime. We shared many office cups of coffee over that muse.</div>
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Well, as I pondered what to do with my stash -- this legacy from my grandparents -- I dusted things off to store in a better place. Imagining those times, I saw my grandparents sitting at their great oak table. Actually, it’s easy to picture that, since I sit at that table. It’s the one thing I’m glad I said ‘Yes’ for when no one else in the family could take it, back when. When, meaning as young newlyweds, we started out dining on a picnic table.</div>
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I can imagine nearly a century of yesterday’s coffee being shared by all the people who’ve gathered around my grandma’s table, because I grew up with it. Instead of today’s coffee by the computer, and dashing off an email, I see them searching for paper and pen from their tall secretary desk, drawing up a chair over at the big round dining table – the hub of activity in the home. With elbow room to spread out stationery supplies, cup and saucer, sugar, cream, spoon, they’d be sipping and thoughtfully writing those letters to loved ones….what would wind up being tomorrow’s muse for me to see and cast my own muse upon, over a cup of yesterday’s coffee.</div>
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Now that the format for Livingston Talk is a new creation, I sense this is the time for my blog to be a new creation, as well. So I’ll go with “Yesterday’s Coffee, Tomorrow’s Muse.”</div>
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You could be wondering where I came up with “Tomorrow’s Muse.” Well, I’m a product of a longtime group of women (originally and affectionately called, “The Tuesday Breakfast Club”) who’ve met monthly since our kids were toddlers. Until recently, we would meet without fail at a local restaurant. Dare I say the habit began about 30 years ago?</div>
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Yes, I’m that old; and that’s where “tomorrow’s muse” comes in. I think back fondly on those years of downing cup after cup of coffee with our breakfast group, discussing everything from yesterday’s happenings to tomorrow’s news. So, in contrast to what the literary folks write about T.S. Eliot’s measuring life in coffee spoons, as being mundane -- in the context of my life, there’s sweetness to the sound of that line. That is, I look back on yesterday’s coffee times, the countless coffee cups and spoons, as the chatter, which (like a cheery church supper in your mind) becomes tomorrow’s muse.</div>
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Am I making any sense with this? As I see it, I’m always musing over yesterday’s events, and I muse a lot about tomorrow’s while enjoying my own yesterday’s coffee. You could interpret it in a lot of ways. But I like the sound of it -- like the full circle of life or something -- sharing pleasant moments of life with your family and friends over coffee (or tea, of course).</div>
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A Christmas gathering with my breakfast buddies was one such occasion. The person among us who loves coffee, even more than I do, gave us each a slim little brown book – Coffee Talk: A celebration of Good Coffee and Good Friends by Ellyn Sanna. The author describes perfectly one reason why I appreciated those breakfast meetings with friends.</div>
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Being a young mother (as we all were when we began the breakfast coffee tradition), Sanna writes: “So when I escaped last Saturday to our local diner to meet a friend for breakfast, how good it felt to have someone wait on me for a change.”</div>
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For me, you see, there’s a touch of blessed hospitality to counting coffee spoons, especially when measuring time with friends. The T.S. Eliot quote, which Sanna shares in her book, adds a new dimension to my thinking about this. What is life, but finding wonder in the mundane moments? Back in 1919, when Eliot wrote that, my grandparents were living mundane moments, no doubt, while recording them lovingly in the letters they’d send.</div>
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As for songs about yesterday’s coffee, most lyrics seem to churn along Eliot’s humdrum tune. So, I’m curious to know which song my father-in-law used to croon. As I reheat, I’ll keep looking for the right one, the one that speaks to the joy in yesterday’s coffee, and sings of tomorrow’s muse.</div>
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<em>“Don’t stop thinking about tomorrow…yesterday’s gone….yesterday’s gone.” – Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac</em></div>
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<em>*****</em></div>
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(Pub. March 23, 2012 at<a href="http://www.thelivingstonpost.com/"> The Livingston Post</a>. Archvies for <em><a data-mce-href="http://www.yesterdayscoffeetomorrowsmuse.blogspot.com/" href="http://www.yesterdayscoffeetomorrowsmuse.blogspot.com/">Yesterday’s Coffee, Tomorrow’s Muse</a> at Blogger’s Blogspot)</em></div>
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</div>SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-11394683527705314982012-03-27T14:47:00.000-07:002012-03-27T14:47:21.198-07:00Williamston Theatre amazes: A dead guy’s wonderful life and shoes, sings the usual understudy of Tuna<br />
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<br /><i><b>By Susan G Parcheta</b></i></div>
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Williamston Theatre (WT for short) in downtown Williamston, Mich., amazes. Throughout six seasons, this wonderful professional theater has charmed and inspired its patrons.</div>
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Patrons turn into fans. Fans, then, keep on growing this theatre; because WT fans find this intimate cultural experience -- once they discover it -- irresistible. I’m one of those patrons and fans. I’ve loved writing about this place, its plays, and its founding foursome for the past four seasons. It’s been an adventure.</div>
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<br /><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-amazes-a-dead-guys-wonderful-life-and-shoes-sings-the-usual-understudy-of-tuna/williamston-theatre-jpg-1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-amazes-a-dead-guys-wonderful-life-and-shoes-sings-the-usual-understudy-of-tuna/williamston-theatre-jpg-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-17569"><img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-17569" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/williamston-theatre-jpg-1-300x199.jpg" height="199" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/williamston-theatre-jpg-1-300x199.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" width="300" /></a></div>
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It’s in the spirit of my “fan-ship” that I decided to have a little bit of fun (in mid-season) with the 2011-2012 show titles. Because to a WT fan, the shows can seem to blend into one dreamtime sort of memory; and dreams can be downright quirky. Plus, they’re real to you when you’re in the middle of them.</div>
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Hence: <em>A dead guy’s wonderful life and shoes, sings the usual understudy of Tuna.</em></div>
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A theatre critic I’m not. I’m an ordinary writer, who knows one simple truth about theatre -- William Shakespeare was right, after all. It bothers me not one whit, to toss off, loudly and often, that now- considered- cliché-nugget- of-wisdom: “All the world’s a stage; and all the men and women merely players.”</div>
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How do I know?</div>
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-amazes-a-dead-guys-wonderful-life-and-shoes-sings-the-usual-understudy-of-tuna/the-usual-2/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-amazes-a-dead-guys-wonderful-life-and-shoes-sings-the-usual-understudy-of-tuna/the-usual-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-17383"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-17383" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/The-Usual-web.jpg" height="193" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/The-Usual-web.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="300" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 0px;">Playing at Williamston Theatre in Williamston MI March 22-April 22</dd></dl>
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Take this season’s lineup in the WT wonderland:</div>
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<em><a data-mce-href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/the-dead-guy" href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/the-dead-guy">The Dead Guy</a>; <a data-mce-href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/this-wonderful-life" href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/this-wonderful-life">This Wonderful Life</a>; <a data-mce-href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/dead-mans-shoes" href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/dead-mans-shoes">Dead Man’s Shoes</a>; <a data-mce-href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/the-usual-a-musical-love-story" href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/the-usual-a-musical-love-story">The Usual – A Musical Love Sto</a>ry; <a data-mce-href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/the-understudy" href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/the-understudy">The Understudy</a>; <a data-mce-href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/red-white-and-tuna" href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/blue-door/red-white-and-tuna">Red, White and Tuna</a></em></div>
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Not only does production at WT involve a small crew of actors who get to be on stage playing several characters, but also, we in the audience get to vicariously “play” these roles in our minds – up close and personal – as if we were on stage ourselves.</div>
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I hadn’t frequented the professional theatre scene, so it took me awhile to become accustomed to WT coziness. Feeling this sense of participation within the story was a new phenomenon to me.</div>
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Often, I’m mind boggled—yet, never surprised -- by what they creatively craft and choreograph in that space. Then, when I visit a huge auditorium production, I turn back into the observer mode – distancing myself from the performers on stage.</div>
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The joy of discovery is realizing that you like that connection of sharing the story with the actors, which the WT venue offers. Although, during that wild, raucous western <em>Dead Man’s Shoes, </em> my husband found himself holding his knees very still, down there front-row-center, when actor Paul Hopper slid dying down the theatre pole next to his seat.</div>
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You may go to the <a data-mce-href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/" href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/">Williamston Theatre</a> website home page for a season overview, and there find the Shows column with play notes and production info, as well as links for the various theatre critics’ reviews. But, here’s my take, so far.</div>
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<strong><em>The Dead Guy </em>by Eric Coble</strong>, a spoof on reality TV shows, was over-the-top in spoof. I loved the ingenious tech set. The actors were great: Eric Ellersen, Chris Korte, Robin Lewis-Bedz, Ian Page, Chris Purchis (WT Managing Director); Michelle Serje. The bizarre twist at the end in this play (directed by Tony Caselli, WT Artistic Director) – as in “does America have the stomach for this much reality?” – left us walking out of the theatre, about how I remember walking out of the movie <em>No Country for Old Men.</em> Shuddering. Obviously, it hit its intended mark.</div>
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<strong><em>This Wonderful Life</em> by Steve Murray</strong> emerged in the season line-up for an encore run. I couldn’t have been happier, as I knew – when enjoying WT Director John Lepard’s one-man telling of the movie classic, <em>It’s a Wonderful Life</em> (Christmas 2009) – that the theatre had a gem of a classic in this retelling.</div>
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Of course, I had to retell about the retelling: <em><a data-mce-href="../john-lepards-wonderful-life-resumes-the-actor-energizes-williamston-theatre-stage-in-encore-performance-of-a-magical-christmas-classic/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/john-lepards-wonderful-life-resumes-the-actor-energizes-williamston-theatre-stage-in-encore-performance-of-a-magical-christmas-classic/">John Lepard’s ‘wonderful life’ resumes: The actor energizes Williamston Theatre stage in encore performance of a magical Christmas classic</a> </em>I love that George Bailey. I love the magic of that story. I love it that America has embraced it as a Christmas classic.</div>
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<strong><em>Dead Man’s Shoes</em> by Joseph Zettelmaier</strong> (Directed by David Wolber of Performance Network Theatre) premiered at WT this winter (through Feb. 26). As we often do, we attended the first night’s performance and figured Zettelmaier had another award-winning hit with this show. We’d seen his other WT plays -- <em>And the Creek Don’t Rise, It Came From Mars, Flyover, USA: Voices from Men of the Midwest. </em>So we were prepared for another unique theatre experience.</div>
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-amazes-a-dead-guys-wonderful-life-and-shoes-sings-the-usual-understudy-of-tuna/dms/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-amazes-a-dead-guys-wonderful-life-and-shoes-sings-the-usual-understudy-of-tuna/dms/" rel="attachment wp-att-17395"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-17395" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/deadmansshoesweb-259x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/deadmansshoesweb-259x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="259" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 0px;">Playing at Performance Network Theatre in Ann Arbor, MI March 8-April 8</dd></dl>
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The tale of outlaw Injun Bill Picote and his sidekick, Froggy, in 1880s Old West was some kind of tale. Only, it seems this tale was spun from a dark footnote of history – a grisly footnote about a dead man’s shoes. You have to see it to believe it (and by all means, read the reviews). And then, there’s the moody folk song: <em><a data-mce-href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aBDdnOorB0&feature=share" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aBDdnOorB0&feature=share">The Ballad of Injun Bill.</a> </em>The haunting music follows you long after you leave the performance.</div>
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The reviews have been great; I’m glad to see that Performance Network Theatre in Ann Arbor will be carrying on <em><a data-mce-href="https://tickets.performancenetwork.org/TheatreManager/1/tmEvent/tmEvent411.html" href="https://tickets.performancenetwork.org/TheatreManager/1/tmEvent/tmEvent411.html">Dead Man’s Shoes</a> </em>March 8-April 8, 2012. Cast: Aral Gribble (Froggy), Paul Hopper and Maggie Meyer (playing several roles), Drew Parker as Injun Bill.</div>
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Williamston Theatre and Performance Network Theatre are part of the <a data-mce-href="http://www.metatheatres.org/" href="http://www.metatheatres.org/">Michigan Equity Theatre Alliance</a> (META) of seven top regional Michigan professional theatres. The others are: Detroit Repertory Theatre, Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Meadowbrook Theatre, Plowshares Theatre Company and Tipping Point Theatre. You may sign up for emails, and catch up with all the plays on the <a data-mce-href="http://www.facebook.com/mitheatrealliance" href="http://www.facebook.com/mitheatrealliance">META Facebook page.</a></div>
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<strong>With spring around the corner</strong>, WT fans look forward to Tony Caselli directing actors Leslie Hull, Emily Sutton-Smith (WT Development Director) in another world premiere. <em>The Usual, A Musical Love Story</em> by Alan Gordon and Mark Sutton-Smith, runs March 22-April 22, 2012.</div>
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Program note description: “Take one lonely guy; add a shot of lonely girl and dash of spunky bartender, blend and serve! Two strangers, each unhappy with their love lives, have a chance encounter in a bar where ‘the usual’ isn’t usual at all. Join Kip, Valerie and Sam as they navigate the treacherous waters of dating, romance and relationships. This modern musical journey through love and life will keep you coming back for more.”</div>
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You can follow the show’s progress via the blog <em><a data-mce-href="http://tonycaselli.com/newsblog/" href="http://tonycaselli.com/newsblog/">Tony Caselli -- Director</a>, plus find the list of the 2012-2013 season selected shows. </em>Here’s Caselli, in his own words about <em>The Usual</em>: This world premiere will be a lot of fun! Dating, romance, finding your place in the world, singing, dancing, computer games from the 80's - and it takes place in a bar - I can't wait!”</div>
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Caselli can’t wait for baseball season to start up, either. He’s passionate about baseball, but also is directing <strong><em>Ernie the Play </em>in May/June/July 2012.</strong></div>
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-amazes-a-dead-guys-wonderful-life-and-shoes-sings-the-usual-understudy-of-tuna/understudy/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-amazes-a-dead-guys-wonderful-life-and-shoes-sings-the-usual-understudy-of-tuna/understudy/" rel="attachment wp-att-17393"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-17393" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Understudy-web.jpg" height="195" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Understudy-web.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="300" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 0px;">Playing at Williamston Theatre in Williamston MI May 17-June 17</dd></dl>
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Says Caselli: “In the spring of 2011 I directed the World Premiere of this new play, by Mitch Albom, all about legendary Detroit Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell. It was wonderful to work on. It was also a huge hit with audiences, so it's coming back and I'll be directing the encore presentation in the spring of 2012!” Check it out at <a data-mce-href="http://www.ernietheplay.com/" href="http://www.ernietheplay.com/">www.ernietheplay.com</a></div>
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May 17-Jun 17, 2012 brings Caselli back to WT – only this time as an actor – in <strong><em>The Understudy </em></strong>by Theresa Rebeck. Directed by Rob Roznowski, the play invites you to “take a trip behind the scenes as a trio of theatre professionals struggle to balance ego, art and commerce in this biting, thoughtful comedy that highlights the ridiculous and fleeting nature of fame.”</div>
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Caselli is joined by Michelle Held and Drew Parker (notorious outlaw Injun Bill Picote of Dead Man’s Shoes).</div>
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-amazes-a-dead-guys-wonderful-life-and-shoes-sings-the-usual-understudy-of-tuna/redwhitetuna_fiinal_ol/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/williamston-theatre-amazes-a-dead-guys-wonderful-life-and-shoes-sings-the-usual-understudy-of-tuna/redwhitetuna_fiinal_ol/" rel="attachment wp-att-17394"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-17394" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/RedWhiteTuna-web.jpg" height="193" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/RedWhiteTuna-web.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="300" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 0px;">Playing at Williamston Theatre in Williamston MI July 12-August 19</dd></dl>
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Capping off the 2011-2012 season (July 12-August 19): <strong><em>Red, White and Tuna</em></strong> by Jason Williams, Joe Sears and Ed Howard. Cast: “The hilarious team of Aral Gribble and Wayne David Parker take us back to Tuna, Texas for the 4<sup>th</sup> of July Tuna High School Class Reunion, portraying the entire population of the town in this outrageous quick-change comedy!”</div>
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<strong>Williamston Theatre Executive Director John Lepard </strong>directs this show. Lepard is one of the founding members of the theatre, along with Tony Caselli, Chris Purchis and Emily Sutton-Smith. The foursome opened Williamston Theatre in 2006.</div>
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The recently announced <a data-mce-href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/announcing-the-2012-2013-season" href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/wp/announcing-the-2012-2013-season">WT 2012-2013 schedule of performances </a> begins Sept. 20-Oct.21 with <strong><em>Boom </em></strong> by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb; <strong><em>Ebenezer </em></strong> by Joe Zettelmaier (A World Premiere Nov. 15-Dec. 23); <strong><em>End Days </em></strong>by Deborah Zoe Laufer (Jan. 24-Feb. 24, 2013); <strong><em>Shirley Valentine </em></strong> by Willy Russell (March 21-April 21, 2013); <strong><em>10:53 </em></strong> by Annie Martin (May 16-June 16, 2013); <strong><em>Tuna Does Vegas </em></strong>(July 11-August 18, 2013).</div>
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Hmmm… do I detect some sort of apocalyptic thread embedded in it? Well, stay tuned. If theatre is life and life is theatre, if all the world’s a stage and we are the players (or are they the players?), if life is art and art is life…</div>
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Then, we all have our exits and our entrances, and all of us in our time, play many parts. The performances at Williamston Theatre, and the stories told… the many exits and entrances… remind us, and mirror those of all of us. And that’s the treasure of this theatre community.</div>
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<b><i>(Pub Feb. 25, 2012 @<a href="http://www.thelivingstonpost.com/"> The Livingston Post)</a></i></b></div>
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<br /></div>SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-89080817827828944482012-02-14T19:57:00.000-08:002012-02-14T20:00:13.974-08:00Sweet hearts, candy hearts: Love is in the air<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', 'Bitstream Charter', Times, serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
Love is in the air.</div>
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It’s Valentine month, heart health month, and it’s definitely the month for sweethearts and sweet hearts.</div>
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While generally writing about health and wellness, I always consider the joyful, fun side of being kind to our hearts. There is a sweet side to friendship, I think, that sparks that feel-good heartlight within.</div>
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It tends to show up on special occasions and holidays. Sometimes you feel you just may as well indulge in a little bit of sweet pleasure during those times.</div>
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Enjoy the gift of tradition: a beautiful homemade heart cookie, given by a longtime friend -- thinking of the time spent lovingly cutting out, baking, colorfully frosting it and transporting it to you.</div>
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Bite into and savor a luscious piece of chocolate, made with the finest ingredients by your favorite hometown chocolatier – in my case,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Sweet Sensations</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>in Fowlerville. I don’t get there often enough.</div>
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And, by all means, have some fun with candy hearts. Do you love candy hearts? XOXOXO?<br />
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/sweet-hearts-candy-hearts-love-is-in-the-air/doriscookie2012img_0352_edited-2/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/sweet-hearts-candy-hearts-love-is-in-the-air/doriscookie2012img_0352_edited-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-16594"><img alt="" class="size-full wp-image-16594 " data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DorisCookie2012IMG_0352_edited-2.jpg" height="218" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/DorisCookie2012IMG_0352_edited-2.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="288" /></a></dt>
<dd class="wp-caption-dd" style="font-size: 11px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 0px;">A sweetheart of a cookie, a friendship tradition. "The greatest sweetener of human life is friendship." -- Joseph Addison</dd></dl>
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Time to take a look back at a column I wrote for the Fowlerville News & Views Feb. 15, 1999 issue about candy hearts. Not a lot has changed since then, re these pastel confection collections, except maybe the sayings or flavors. We’ll see. Here’s the retro look:</div>
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<b>Candy Hearts (1999)</b></div>
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<b> By Susan Parcheta (from N&V column: Living…Happier, healthier, longer and better)</b></div>
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Candy hearts.</div>
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Here we are in the middle of Valentine month. Did you give or get any candy hearts? You know, the ones with all the cute sayings: “Be Mine” – “Kiss Me” –“Hey Dude.”</div>
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Necco Confectionary Company started it all back in 1901. Now a few billion each year find their way into our Valentine celebrations. Somehow, it doesn’t seem like February without a few candy hearts around. While visiting friends last week, I was delighted to spot a dish of candy hearts – in sherbet colors -- on the kitchen counter.</div>
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The inscriptions, they say, change with the times. A popular one nowadays is “Fax Me.” This year, I saw “My Love” – “Your Guy” – “Kid You” – “Only Me – “Love Me” – “Good Time” – “Forever” … among others.</div>
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Candy hearts are for the young, you say? A Greek proverb affirms: “The heart that loves is always young.”</div>
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Many years ago, there was a group for senior citizens in Howell (MI) called “The Young at Heart Club.” I thought the club was a neat thing, knowing that I was light years away from joining at that time. But, even then, I wasn’t sure I liked the name.</div>
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I don’t know if the organization still exists, but if so, I hope they’ve changed the name. I think that “young at heart” is a bit condescending when applied to older people. It makes it seem like older people, senior citizens if you will (I’m skirting that category), should be lumped together as “young at heart.”</div>
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After all, some folks are cranky and obnoxious and unloving, no matter what age they happen to be. Besides, do we ever say “old at heart?”</div>
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Maybe I don’t like it because I’m just ahead of those baby boomers on my heels. And I probably think like they do. The thought of growing old is not something boomers want to entertain. I don’t think many of them would join a “Young at Heart Club.”</div>
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I also don’t like the term “Golden Agers.” Sure, maybe we deserve some respect when we get up there in years. But calling those “of a certain age” G<i>olden Agers</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>sure doesn’t help, to my mind.</div>
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Frankly, I’ve never thought much of lumping people into categories. I think even less of it now. We should always be encouraged to be “young at heart” throughout our lives.</div>
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One of my favorite “senior citizens” was a perfect example of the possibility of being “forever young.” Her name was Gussie. Some who might be reading this also counted her as a friend. She was a lot like my grandmas, both of whom remained “young at heart.”</div>
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So, it seemed natural for me to adopt Gussie as my “grandma.” While she’s no longer with us, having died in the spring of 1994, her effervescent spirit continues to inspire me. She was a “young thing” of 86. Too young, I thought, to leave this earth. I’d hoped she’d live at least another decade. For my kids, she was like a “great grandma.” They, too, caught her young-at-heart spirit.</div>
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Whenever I feel down, or think that life is getting to me, I often think about my “grandmas” – both related and adopted. I know their positive outlook contributed to their long, successful and influential lives. They radiated love and it came back to them.</div>
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Loving others…Valentine month is a good time to reflect on how we’re doing in that area. It might be a nice idea to keep a jar of those candy hearts around all year…to remind us.</div>
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“My Gal” – “Lost Love” – “Oh You!” – “Let’s Go” – “Hear This” … and “Young at Heart” – “Always” and “Forever.”</div>
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<b>Fast Forward to 2012</b></div>
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Oh, my. We now have “Tweet me” – “Text me” – “You Rock!” Some of the interim additions since I wrote my column, according to Reader’s Digest: “Be My Hero” – “Heart of Gold” – “Cool Cat” – “URA Tiger” – “Chill Out” – “Get My Drift” – “Top Chef” – “Honey Bun” – “Spice it Up!”</div>
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One thing I needn’t worry about: My “Top Chef” cookie baking friend will “Always and Forever” “Spice it Up” with her “Class Act” outlook and “Heart of Gold.”</div>
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/sweet-hearts-candy-hearts-love-is-in-the-air/vlahosheartsxoxoimg_0319_edited-1/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/sweet-hearts-candy-hearts-love-is-in-the-air/vlahosheartsxoxoimg_0319_edited-1/" rel="attachment wp-att-16606"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-16606" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/VlahosHeartsXOXOIMG_0319_edited-1-218x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/VlahosHeartsXOXOIMG_0319_edited-1-218x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="218" /></a></dt>
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Now, we need to keep thinking young, yes. That’s true at any age on the spectrum. The key, for health and longevity, is not only to think young at heart, but also to live as if you had a candy heart. If our heart remains sweet, in gratitude, lifelong, we’re better equipped to go with the flow, with less stress and more happiness.</div>
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Sweet hearts, candy hearts…love is in the air.</div>
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I think of these things now… now that I’m among the “grandmas” on the block. “XOXOXO” – it’s the love quotient that matters. The best heart candy is within. We can choose to love; we can be “EZ 2 Love.” We might even keep a jar of candy hearts around to remind us.</div>
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I still agree with that anonymous ancient Greek: “The heart that loves is always young.”</div>
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<b>Candy Heart Links:</b></div>
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The neat thing about online blogging nowadays is that you can add informative links to accompany your blog, something I couldn’t do in 1999. I’m not sure you could even find Wikipedia, then, and I know I didn’t Google. So here are a few links to expand your knowledge of Candy Hearts, their history, and current sayings of the national culture.</div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweethearts_(candy)" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweethearts_%28candy%29">Necco Candy SweetHearts</a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.necco.com/ourbrands/default.asp?brandid=8" href="http://www.necco.com/ourbrands/default.asp?brandid=8">The American Classic Necco Fine Candy since 1847</a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.infoplease.com/spot/candyhearts1.html" href="http://www.infoplease.com/spot/candyhearts1.html">Here are some sayings from the past decade</a></div>
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<a data-mce-href="http://www.rd.com/home/over-10-years-of-candy-hearts-sayings-valentines-day/" href="http://www.rd.com/home/over-10-years-of-candy-hearts-sayings-valentines-day/">10 + Years of Conversation Hearts</a></div>SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-63945241103370919612012-02-02T10:25:00.000-08:002012-02-02T10:27:06.834-08:00Friendship Matters: Circles of Life, Circles of Time, Circles of Joy<i>By Susan G Parcheta</i><br />
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<i>(Published Jan. 31, 2012 at The LivingstonPost.com )</i></div>
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Driving down the main road in our neighborhood isn't the same anymore. I’ve had that feeling before – mostly when gobs of new houses would spring up, adding to the traffic and changing the once very rural character of the landscape.</div>
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Now, though, it’s different. It's the feeling of something definitely missing, something I’d taken for granted. The awareness feels strange; two of my longtime neighbors and church friends are missing from that landscape -- two, from my revered circles of friends.</div>
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In the circle of life, matters of friendship matter.</div>
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<dt class="wp-caption-dt"><a data-mce-href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/friendship-matters-circles-of-life-circles-of-time-circles-of-joy/attachment/100214/" href="http://thelivingstonpost.com/friendship-matters-circles-of-life-circles-of-time-circles-of-joy/attachment/100214/" rel="attachment wp-att-16102"><img alt="" class="size-medium wp-image-16102" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/100214-300x300.jpg" height="300" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/100214-300x300.jpg" style="border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;" width="300" /></a></dt>
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Friendship matters are heart matters. Why then, do we so often take friendship for granted? But then, how often do we treat matters of the heart seriously – until it’s too late? The circle of life, of friendship, of heart comes to mind as it usually does – when we least expect it.</div>
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As I drove the road on a snowy, mid-January day, I was coming home from a breakfast with friends. Inside my heart, an inner dialog was going on regarding that day’s events. The weather played its part, bringing the two events into snow-white focus. Friendships, developed over a forty-year span of time, took center stage in my mind. Circles of friends, that do matter, and the beauty of these ties of spirit, became my theme for the day.<br />
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That day my circles collided. On that day, I spent the morning with the breakfast group of friends. Four decades of friendship that seems like four years. Then, afternoon threw in a somber note, attending the funeral of my church friend and neighbor -- another four decades of friendship. Different circles, different activities, yet the friendships reflect longtime ties of spirit and heart.</div>
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It is a long time, 40 years, yet it passes in the blink of an eye. It’s easy to take friendships for granted…to assume our friends will always be there. Amazingly, one of my breakfast friends discussed similar events happening for her. Her church friend was around the week before; and now she wasn’t. Funerals loomed for both of us.</div>
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I was feeling particularly nostalgic, anyway, on that day. I’d just lost a little best friend of the critter kind. ZuZu, a tawny yellow kitten had breezed into my life four months earlier, only to make her exit the second day of the New Year. I was feeling sad, and lost, reminiscing about relationships – both the people and pets in our lives.</div>
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Funny how you start thinking of things like that, and then someone says something that triggers more memories. My husband said the pie room at our church (where the pies were served at suppers) wouldn’t be the same without Mary.</div>
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Suddenly, I found myself piping up, “You mean her sour cream raisin pie?” (That was always my favorite – in the days when you could serve cream pies at church).</div>
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Yikes, I hadn’t thought of that in ages. Then more memories began to surface. The pastor had mentioned at the service about her chickens who laid the blue eggs, and about the crocheted towels, baby blankets and quilts she made for countless friends and family. But I was thinking about the times we’d spent together at church women’s meetings; and I was even thinking way back to the time when we took sewing classes with another church friend and neighbor when I was new to the neighborhood, and they’d included me. They were next-door neighbors. Now they’re both gone; our road seems empty without them.</div>
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Among my circles of friends, my breakfast circle and my church circle have meant a great deal to me. They’ve stood the test of time. They’ve brought me great joy.</div>
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My breakfast friends were my contemporaries; our husbands worked together; our children grew up together. My neighborhood and church friends adopted me when we moved into the area. In many ways, they stood in for the elders I knew in my own growing up years from my home church and community. I discovered they’d become role models, similarly, to our kids.</div>
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Now the elder group is passing on; and we (my breakfast friends and I) find ourselves becoming the elders in our communities and in our churches. The wise elders: Who, me? How could I now be one of them, I ask? Impossible: How could I ever be like they were to me? The questions keep coming.</div>
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To everything there is a season. Yet, how do we change with the seasons? How do we say good-bye? In the landscape of my heart they are still there, these friends.</div>
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My longtime breakfast friend sent me an E-card that night. I knew we’d been mulling over the same things. The greeting was about friendships: caring for them, nurturing them, being grateful for them. It felt good to be thought of at that moment – good to know that we still have each other.</div>
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In the circle of life, friendship matters DO matter. The time we spend with friends, matters. The joy they bring to us, matters.</div>
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It helps me to think of life’s friendships as a circle. The beginnings, the endings -- and all of the middle – they’re all there, a beautiful carrousel. In my heart, the carrousel of friendship goes round and round and all of infinity contains it. It is the one giant joyride of life.</div>
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<br /></div>SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-23473835899338031612012-01-31T16:54:00.000-08:002012-01-31T16:56:53.191-08:00Michigan mystery writer Richard Baldwin continually finds joy in telling a story.<br />
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<img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-14607" data-mce-src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/images.jpg" height="281" src="http://thelivingstonpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/images.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; float: right;" title="images" width="180" /><em><br /></em><br />
<em>By Susan G Parcheta</em><br />
<em>Note: First Published Dec. 16, 2011 at LivingstonTalk.com, now </em><br />
<em>TheLivingstonPost.com</em><br />
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<em>Assassination at High Speed</em> is the latest – and 12<sup>th</sup> -- Michigan-based Lou Searing detective novel from this writer’s pen.</div>
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Here’s the scenario: “The State of Michigan is awarded a huge federal contract to build a speed-rail line from Port Huron to New Buffalo. In celebration, the U.S. President, the Prime Minister of Canada, and the Michigan Governor board the train and set off on a Victory Ride… but who won’t make it to their final destination?”</div>
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The book, dedicated to “train lovers of all ages,” features stops at Michigan towns along the rail line. The Michigan settings make Baldwin’s book fun for Michigan readers, as you recognize and can often picture exactly where things are taking place, as if you were there. The newest novel is timely, with high speed rail being a hot topic for national debate.</div>
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Nearly a decade ago, I interviewed Baldwin for The Mid-Michigan Reader (May/June 2002 Issue Two -- a magazine of <em>Profiles and Observations</em>, published by Steve Horton (currently publisher of Michigan local newspaper, the Fowlerville News & Views). Baldwin was becoming established in the murder mystery genre, having written his first three novels about Detective Lou Searing: <em>A Lesson Plan for Murder, The Principal Cause of Death, </em>and <em>Administration Can Be Murder. </em>His fourth book, <em>Buried Secrets of Bois Blanc: Murder in the Straits of Mackinac, </em>was just off the press <a data-mce-href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/" href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/">(Buttonwood Press).</a></div>
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There’ve been other articles about the books in between. Perhaps you’ve noticed one of these Lou Searing titles on a Michigan bookstore shelf: <em>The Marina Murders, A Final Crossing: Murder on the S.S. Badger, Poaching Man and Beast: Murder in the North Woods, The Lighthouse Murders, Murder in Thin Air, Murder at the Ingham County Fair, Murder in Tip-Up Town.</em></div>
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Since the tenth anniversary of our first interview is coming up next year, I thought it would be fun to reprint the back story that I uncovered then, about this amazing and prolific Michigan writer.</div>
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<strong><em>Mystery writer Rich Baldwin finds joy in telling a story </em></strong><em>(by Susan Parcheta for Horton’s Mid-Michigan Reader, May/June 2002):</em></div>
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Michigan mystery writer Richard Baldwin takes the necessary precautions now when being interviewed.</div>
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Once in a restaurant, it became apparent that folks in the next booth, overhearing character descriptions and murder plots, were visibly uncomfortable.</div>
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It was all just fiction, he told them. They were relieved. After all, it would sound plausible to a Michigan native. Baldwin’s settings for his Lou Searing and Margaret McMillan mystery series happen o be familiar mid-Michigan towns – like Stockbridge, Mason, Lansing, as well as northern stomping grounds.</div>
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Baldwin’s novels traverse all of Michigan. In his first book, <em>Lesson Plan for Murder, </em>the setting is Newberry in the Upper Peninsula.</div>
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Detective Lou Searing solves crimes from his home base of Grand Haven, which incidentally, is Rich Baldwin’s hometown.</div>
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Follow along carefully, because it gets tricky. Rich’s characters are the names of his parents, Lou (Searing) Baldwin and Margaret (McMillan) Baldwin. But Rich is Lou Searing in the series. Like Rich, Lou has a hearing loss, is bald and pushing 60. Plus, Lou Searing is a writer in the novels.</div>
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As Baldwin puts it, “I write the book about Lou writing the book about the case.”</div>
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The second novel, <em>The Principal Cause of Death, </em>is set in the fictitious town of Shoreline, while the third in the series, <em>Administration Can Be Murder, </em>finds Lou and Maggie covering a murder in the golf mecca of Gaylord.</div>
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The character of Maggie (Margaret McMillan) uses a wheelchair, is independent, with a background in special education. She represents someone with independence skills, who uses technology.</div>
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Baldwin’s newest novel, <em>Buried Secrets of Bois Blanc, </em>is set in the environs of the Straits and the island of Bois Blanc.</div>
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A theme runs through them: special education. Richard Baldwin is retired from a career in special education, including seven years (1990-1997) as Michigan’s director of special education.</div>
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Now that expertise is blossoming into a writing and publishing career. His early books, beginning with <em>Lesson Plan for Murder</em> have a special education theme and issues.</div>
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While each book is independent, the Lou Searing mysteries begin when Lou (also director of special education for Michigan) meets Maggie, an insurance claims investigator, at a conference. They figure they could make a good team, solving education-related crimes.</div>
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Maggie lives in Battle Creek with husband Tom. Lou is married to Carol in the books (also Rich’s wife’s name). Carol Baldwin (nicknamed Patty) is a specialist for the Ingham Intermediate School District.</div>
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Baldwin chuckles to think of what could happen in trying to explain all this to his grandchildren should they be reading grandpa’s books one day.</div>
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The Baldwin children, Scott and Amanda, both have young children. Lou and Carol Searing, incidentally, have two children named Scott and Amanda Searing. Rich has a younger sister, Gayle.</div>
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In real life, growing up in Grand Haven, his mother, Mary (McMillan) Baldwin, taught elementary school and his father, Lou, worked for the Muskegon company, Manning, Maxwell and Moore.</div>
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Rich was on the high school golf team, played clarinet in the band, and enjoyed public speaking and drama. Accolades included “Best Actor” for his role as cousin in <em>Arsenic and Old Lace. </em>He enjoyed his summer job at the Water Ski Thrill Show on the waterfront, taking tickets and flipping lights for the nighttime kite act.</div>
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Baldwin attended Alma College from 1959 to 1961, dropping out for awhile to work at Laughead Piano Co., before returning to campus. He played golf and belonged to Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He holds the fraternity’s “Distinguished Alumni Award.”</div>
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Contemplating a career as a Presbyterian minister, Baldwin eventually switched to education. He transferred to Western Michigan University, completing his degree in 1964. He first taught children with hearing loss. He brought first-hand experience to that endeavor, having lived with hearing aids in both ears since the age of two, the condition attributed to measles.</div>
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In those early years he married Jean Mosier, mother of Scott and Amanda, and taught hearing-impaired children in Kalamazoo and Berrien Springs.</div>
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After earning his PhD in 1973 from Kansas University, he taught teacher education at Kent State and at Texas Tech before joining the Michigan Department of Education in 1977, first as a consultant, then supervisor, and eventually becoming director.</div>
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Since retirement, he’s been writing books. “I’ve always been a story teller,” confesses Baldwin, describing the process as if you’re back at camp as a kid, sitting by the campfire. Someone starts a story…”It was a dark and stormy night…you take it, Sue.”</div>
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But storytelling continued beyond being a campfire pastime for him, he explains, adding, “Rich never gives it up.”</div>
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Baldwin continues, describing his style: “I don’t interview and I don’t research first. I go to my imagination, and it’s like going to a movie in slow motion and I’m involved in it and I record it. I sit at the computer and I tell a story. The first draft just rolls out.” Then comes the writing and rewriting.</div>
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Says Baldwin: “The first book is just a lot of joy. You’re just telling a story.”</div>
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Currently, Baldwin self-publishes through his own Buttonwood Press (<a data-mce-href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/" href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/">www.buttonwoodpress.com</a>) in Haslett, where he and Patty reside. Self-publishing came about, he says, because “at age 56 I wanted to get the stories out.”</div>
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His first book was published through Jenkins Group, Traverse City book publishers. He’s been on his own ever since.</div>
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His support group of helpers is extensive: proofreader Joyce Wagner, manuscript reviewer Karen O’Connor and cover art by Marilyn “Sam” Nesbitt.</div>
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Ray Walsh reviews Baldwin’s works in the <em>Lansing State Journal, </em>and notes Baldwin, Walsh likes some, but not others.</div>
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Baldwin credits his editor, Gail Garber – also a mystery fan – noting, “She understands my style.”</div>
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His research has taken him all over the state. “Oh, it was so much fun,” he says with gusto. “Because I’ve been to those towns. I’ve eaten in those places.”</div>
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Although a “down-stater,” Rich holds a genuine fondness for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, partly because of family roots. During the late 1800s, his great-grandfather, John McMillan, was a blacksmith and proprietor of a general store in Dollarville. The family moved to Munising, where Rich’s grandfather, Hugh, was a banker.</div>
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His grandmother, Maybelle Howard McMillan, was a gifted musician and artist. Rich noted that his mother also possessed those creative talents and this inspired him, a few years back, to take music lessons.</div>
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“Listening to mom play by ear,” explains Baldwin, “I thought genetically, I should have this skill, too.” And, at the cusp of mid-life, age 50, he took piano lessons.</div>
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Inevitably, came the recital. A remarkable thing happened. Mrs. Henes’ young students gave this new senior citizen a lesson in acceptance of others that he retells in a special booklet, <em>The Piano Recital.</em></div>
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Baldwin was Michigan’s Director of Special Education at the time. What the students did for him, by insisting that he walk in with them, so profoundly move d him that he began telling his “piano story” at conferences. At last he wrote it down so that others might enjoy it, too.</div>
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Combining his love for the U.P. with his love of history and for his love of history and for his educational field, Baldwin in 1993 wrote a history of special education in the U.P. from 1902-1975. His effort here was to tell “the wonderful story of the people who provided for people with disabilities before the law required it.”</div>
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As director of special education, Baldwin says, “it was my job to see that the laws were followed.” For many years, he explains, people with disabilities were excluded and weren’t welcome in the public schools. Programs weren’t available.</div>
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Laws were created to hopefully right those wrongs, Baldwin points out. “That is what we did here.” State and federally mandated (in the early 70s), these laws gave people with disabilities the opportunity to be included in the public school system. But the way we went about it, maintains Baldwin, in many ways excluded those with special needs.</div>
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“Billy went to the public school as someone different,” he explains. “He had a label.” He was labeled “special,” and was treated differently. Despite laws of inclusion, the system forced him to remain on the periphery.</div>
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“We needed the laws at the time,” explains Baldwin, adding, “It’s evolving as it should. I’m proud of the system we have.”</div>
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Still, he points out, “We label people. We judge them and we tend to exclude them.” The minister in him exhorts Jesus’ message: “If you have love, you don’t need all the laws.”</div>
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Then, he makes a striking remark, thinking back to his experiences in the Department of Education. “I was the head Pharisee.”</div>
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Throughout his novels, Baldwin provides the reader with bits of insight into his soul. Follow the trail, and you’ll pick up a crumb here, or a clue there.</div>
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The influence of his original call to ministry emerges from under the surface. “If we just loved each other, we wouldn’t need all these rules.”</div>
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His underlying belief that we are all connected resulted in his first book of a spiritual nature: <em>Unity and the Children.</em> Unity is a female spirit who appears to some school children, who then lead an attitude change in public education.</div>
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In this book, Baldwin helps the reader view public education from a broader perspective. While pointing out how laws have created separation and disunity, he paints a positive future in education – where love, respect and unity prevail.</div>
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His mystery novels contain thoughtful nuggets for the reader to chew on, as well. “It is my fervent wish, he writes at the close of <em>Lesson Plan for Murder, </em>“that the future of special education will de-emphasize all that separates us and will emphasize all that brings us together.”</div>
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Besides his writing career, Baldwin volunteers at St. Mary Catholic School in Williamston, and he recently was a guest of Webberville Elementary School students who were participating in a mystery writing contest.</div>
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He’s a member of Knights of Columbus and Kiwanis, and serves as president of the Lansing area support group for the hard of hearing.</div>
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Baldwin is available for mystery shows at conventions and home parties. He also teaches community education classes in self-publishing in Williamston, Haslett, Okemos, and Holt.</div>
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As a young man, Richard Baldwin’s career path diverged from the ministry, when he determined to follow the signpost: Special Education.</div>
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Now, in retirement, the paths have become one through his writing. And that – a joy to him – is making all the difference.</div>
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<strong>Links for Richard Baldwin:</strong></div>
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<strong><a data-mce-href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/" href="http://www.buttonwoodpress.com/">Rich’s website Buttonwood Press</a></strong></div>
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<br /></div>SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-5834744224681129872012-01-16T21:21:00.000-08:002012-01-16T21:21:38.465-08:00ZuZu & me: Celebrating an epiphany, angels & acorns<br />
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She scampered jauntily into my life one beautiful, warm day in September.</div>
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I couldn’t know at that moment, but I was headed for one wild roller coaster ride. An adventure of the heart that I’d be looking back on nearly four months later, as one of those life-transforming, “what happened to me?” experiences.</div>
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I’m writing this on Jan. 6, the day of the Feast of Epiphany. It’s the day my dad was buried – the 12th day of Christmas. The day I contemplate the cycle of life…birth, death, beginnings and endings. And I try to understand where I fit in it all.</div>
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Especially this past autumn, when my heart got run over by a little yellow fur ball. She spotted me from across the road, as I walked to my mailbox. I heard the definite meow of a kitten. Uh, oh, I thought, “We don’t need another cat.” I figured it must belong to someone, but when she saw me, I could tell that she was on a mission.</div>
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The feeling, I admit, was that I was the subject of this mission; and she was determined to be here. Something like Clarence, the angel in the movie, “It’s a Wonderful Life” – on a mission to help George Bailey. I named her ZuZu after George Bailey’s little girl.</div>
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“ZuZu, my little gingersnap,” George would say, endearingly. I loved that movie; I loved ZuZu. I loved my kitten. She was a wonderful gingersnap color, with a face just as sweet.</div>
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When she determined, too, that we’d probably keep her, I took her for the works -- check-up, shots, and all. She had some kind of inherent virus, they said, that would probably come back until her immune system got built up.</div>
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We kept her in the garage, away from the other cats, for three weeks. Meanwhile, she settled in, loving her new quarters, and never wandering from it. She’d hop into the cozy cardboard box I’d fixed up -- with a fuzzy car wash mitt, her favorite (to keep warm) large wool sock, and pillow-soft, multi-colored stuffed ball with jingle bell inside.</div>
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The other cats mostly ignored her, as though they knew she was just passing through. Not their usual reception for new cats on the block. So, I was pleased, thinking this would be a harmonious transition. Well, it was, except for me. Each day, I grew a little bit more enamored of this kitten who’d taken up residence, not only in our home, but in my heart.</div>
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There was a sweetness about her that seemed out-of-the-ordinary. I’ve known and loved countless cats in my lifetime. Each one is unique. ZuZu, though, had an angelic aspect…a sweetness…that was hard to define. It just was.</div>
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The virus cleared, but something was going on that became apparent in a few more weeks. She wasn’t growing like a normal cat, nor enjoying much kitten-ness; and eventually her nervous system gave way. There are so many things a cat can have, as I understand it now. But, just as she was given the green light for a year, things began to go awry. We tried one route of medicine, but that didn’t work. And, I intuitively knew that she was going to leave us.</div>
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Somehow, I felt it should be her choice. She wasn’t in pain, and I thought perhaps some miracle might happen to spare this little angel that chose me for this experience. Just as we’d think she’d be gone, she’d perk up, until finally I hoped against hope that she really did have nine lives and would snap out of whatever it was that was taking her down.</div>
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I’ll always wonder, “why me?”</div>
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A long time ago, when our daughter was a small child, I came across a greeting card that so entranced me, I framed it and hung it on her bedroom wall. Something about the cover picture drew me into it.</div>
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The word “Congratulations” floats in white along the top, as if drifting among puffy clouds hovering in a rosy amber sky. A tawny-gold kitten sits in bright green grass on a flower-strewn hilltop in the foreground, gazing across a dreamscape of more hilltops toward that distant horizon, as if contemplating the adventure, somewhere out there, which lies ahead.</div>
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It sounds bizarre, but could I have possibly attracted this kitten into my life because I’d subconsciously absorbed that picture in my mind’s eye? Well, it’s fun to think so, since I like to operate on the premise that – not only are all things possible, but that there is a purpose for the way things happen that we may not always understand. I like to think that, because it helps me make sense of things.</div>
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Right now, making sense of this doesn’t compute, because I’ve lost my little sidekick. All I have left are memories. Memories…of telling her I love her, listening to a St. Francis (Patron Saint of Animals) meditation day after day, praying for a miracle, holding her, feeding her eventually with a syringe, again. </div>
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Ironically, she’d loved to be fed with the syringe when she came to us, so that was the easy part.</div>
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What was not so easy was saying goodbye. I’d show her the picture; and she’d appear to be looking at it. I’d tell her she had to go toward the light, across the rainbow bridge. I sensed that, in her tiny lioness heart, she wanted to stick around. And, she did, all the way through Christmas and just enough to give the New Year 2012, and me, a good send off.</div>
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ZuZu loved to bat acorns around the garage, when she first came. Those were her toys. So, now, I think of her that way -- playing with her acorns. And I picture the love that she shared with us as being like an acorn, the heart of a tree, that blossoms and grows, bigger and taller, lovingly spreading its branches.</div>
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I recognized the beauty of the light in her; and she, with the grace of St. Francis, seemed to be telling me that it’s time, now, to blossom like the pink flowers on the mountaintop. In her presence, I sensed a doorway. But was I sending her through it, or was she sending me?</div>
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She loved to cuddle into the sofa pillow under the leaves of our potted orange tree. At Christmastime, I decorated the tree with miniature blue lights. I’d watch her gaze up at them, wondering what she was seeing…thinking.</div>
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I began to wonder if I was having a close encounter with an angel. Maybe I named her right, after all. A beautiful quote I found, by an unknown author, gives the assurance that “when angels visit us, we do not hear the rustle of wings, nor feel the feathery touch of the breast of a dove; but we know their presence by the love they create in our hearts.”</div>
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This furry small wonder captivated my life for four amazing months, bringing dazzling sunlight and joy; and, along with that came some surprising revelations to my heart.</div>
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“Graduation,” the inside of the greeting says… “sunset of a beautiful past…sunrise of a bright tomorrow. May tomorrow bring you a world of happiness and success.”</div>
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If purring counts as happiness, then ZuZu exuded joy. Her constant purring seemed to be a lesson, even in that, of a simple demonstration of love…love no matter what.</div>
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Love is the message she brought with her. Move on from the past, toward the light of tomorrow. Allow it to bring you success and happiness. Be patient in all things. Go with the flow, even more...riding the wave to the shore.</div>
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I’m sure I’ll always be trying to unravel the mystery of what was happening to me. But, it took on new meaning during Christmas, as we watched the movie about George Bailey and ZuZu. Of course, I was expecting a Clarence-like miracle for this little kitten, peacefully sleeping, safely snuggled in the folds of my leopard fleece robe. I wanted this “wonderful life” to have a happy ending.</div>
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Once, during my kitty hospice time, I thought she was revealing a remarkable epiphany: “You’re not sending me to the light,” a voice seemed to say. “I’m sending you to the light.”</div>
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ZuZu, my little gingersnap, you’re probably right. You just keep batting me acorns, wherever you are, and I’ll grow them into trees.</div>SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-74688183986223581472012-01-06T18:03:00.000-08:002012-01-16T21:52:42.331-08:00La Flor de Noche Buena: Christmas Eve Poinsettia weaves its beautiful winter magic<b><i>By Susan G Parcheta</i></b><br />
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Nothing kindles my heart at Christmastime and the New Year like the poinsettia. <i>La flor de Nochebuena</i> — this beautiful plant native to Mexico — is truly the Christmas Eve flower in our family.<br />
Shades of red, pink, green, cream, crimson, orange and white…it’s
always been the star flower of Christmas night.<br />
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From the time of
Franciscan friars 17<sup>th</sup> Century celebrations to 21<sup>st</sup>
Century churches everywhere, the brilliant star-shaped flowers
symbolize the Christmas Star, the Star of Bethlehem…and to me the <i>magi</i> and their Star search.<br />
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The flower is named after the first United States Minister to Mexico,
Joel Roberts Poinsett, who was also an amateur botanist and introduced
this beautiful plant into the United States in 1825.<br />
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My favorite is pink. I’m not sure why, except that each color seems
to express an aspect of the feeling of Christmas. Red, of course,
symbolizes the blood sacrifice – for ancient Aztecs, to the sun, and
later to Christians, of crucifixion of the Christ.<br />
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Pale green
poinsettias bring a light freshness of all things new and healing at the
New Year. Cream touches on the gentle spirit of the season; and white,
its purity. I’ve not seen many orange-toned poinsettias, but they’d
express, to me, the wonder of creativity and of new insights and
resolutions at this time of year.<br />
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The heart of Christmas...make it last all year long</div>
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I love the brilliant, rich red poinsettia my husband brought home for
Christmas. Having the plant on the table for family dinners offers the
touch of tradition, beauty and meaning to the annual celebrations.<br />
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For many years, along with others in our church congregation, we’d
order a couple of huge poinsettias . They’d grace the altar in banks of
wondrous pinks and reds until Christmas Eve, and then at that late
night service, we’d take them home. There is something special about
that tradition, as well, bringing the poinsettias home on Christmas Eve.<br />
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<a href="http://livingstontalk.com/blogs/la-flor-de-noche-buena-christmas-eve-poinsettia-weaves-its-beautiful-winter-magic/attachment/pinksinglepoinsettia1210dscn4169/" rel="attachment wp-att-14437" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-medium wp-image-14437" height="225" src="http://livingstontalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/PinkSinglePoinsettia1210DSCN4169-300x225.jpg" width="300" /></a>Yes, my husband is partial to the deep red flowers. I’ve often
wondered why I take to the pink tones. But in recent years, I think I’ve
discovered the reason. Pink, rose, fuchsia, ruby represent to me the
colors of the heart. The heart of Christmas, which for me, means making
the feeling of Christmas last all year long.<br />
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"Starflower" is my image of this </div>
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Henry Reed Feb 3, 2011 Daily Mandala </div>
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Yes, the soft pink tells the story of the magical attribute of
Christmas, the beauty of the hospitality of the human heart, which
expresses itself most outwardly at Christmastime.<br />
Putting all these colors of the poinsettia together, you have all the
harmony of Christmas that you can carry into the New Year. I can
nurture my Christmas poinsettia along throughout the coming weeks of
winter to remind me.<br />
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The starflower’s beautiful blossoms nourish my heart with joy in the
midst of wintertime, weaving its magic ith promise of blooms in
spring…symbolizing emergence of a new heart within, healing and peace
all around us.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://spanish.about.com/od/teachingresources/a/poinsettia_2.htm">La Flor de Noche Buena – the Poinsettia</a><br />
J<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Roberts_Poinsett">oel Roberts Poinsett, US Ambassador to Mexico</a><br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphorbia_pulcherrima">The beautiful Christmas starflower story and legends</a><br />
<a href="http://gardening.about.com/od/winterinthegarden/a/Poinsettia.htm?nl=1">Caring for your poinsettia after Christmas</a><br />
<a href="http://http//www.dailymandala.blogspot.com/2011_02_01_archive.html">The Daily Mandala Archives </a><br />
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(Published Dec. 31, 2011 at LivingstonTalk.com)SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1519810854042969450.post-14792715079794119872012-01-06T17:51:00.000-08:002012-01-06T17:52:38.185-08:00John Lepard’s ‘wonderful life’ resumes: The actor energizes Williamston Theatre stage in encore performance of a magical Christmas classic<b><i>By Susan G. Parcheta </i></b><br />
<br />
<b><i>Look, Daddy. Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings. ~ Zuzu Bailey</i></b><br />
<h1>
<a href="http://livingstontalk.com/blogs/john-lepard%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98wonderful-life%e2%80%99-resumes-the-actor-energizes-williamston-theatre-stage-in-encore-performance-of-a-magical-christmas-classic/attachment/the-usual/" rel="attachment wp-att-14246" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="" class="alignright size-full wp-image-14246" height="194" src="http://livingstontalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/WTWonderfulLife-web.jpg" width="300" /></a><span style="font-size: 13px; font-weight: normal;">How much do you love <b><i>It’s a Wonderful Life?</i></b></span></h1>
You know, the movie. That one about George Bailey and Bedford Falls.
That 1946 black-and-white film directed by Frank Capra — with James
Stewart as George Bailey, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell.
That quirky Christmas story that’s oddly become a classic for more
generations than you’d imagine.<br />
<br />
Go ahead, admit it. You might love <i>It’s a Wonderful Life </i>almost as much as actor John Lepard loves it.<br />
<br />
Lepard, who also is director of the Williamston Theatre in downtown
Williamston, Michigan, heeded the call of fans clamoring for him to
bring back his award-winning 2009 one-man show <i>This Wonderful Life. </i><br />
<i></i> Now, this Christmas, you can once again travel with John
down that mythical road to Bedford Falls. In this solo performance, he
becomes the artful storyteller, winging you back in time, weaving
playwright Steve Murray’s tale through the eyes of the 30+ townsfolk.<br />
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John Lepard's 'Wonderful Life' at Williamston Theatre, Williamston, Michigan. </div>
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Lepard revels in gathering us around for the retelling. And, so
gathered, we sit spellbound as we watch him transform himself into a
town-full of characters. As for George Bailey, Lepard<i> IS</i>
George Bailey…and that evil Mr. Potter, and George’s wife Mary, and his
brother Harry, and his little girl ZuZu, Clarence the Angel and Nick the
bartender and so on.<br />
<br />
This transformational story follows the story of the Capra film,
which has surged in popularity since television showings began in the
late 1970s. According to Amazon.com, it’s now among the most beloved
American films. “It is also one of the most fascinating films in the
American cinema, a multilayered work of Dickensian density,” writes
reviewer Robert Horton.<br />
<br />
“Capra’s triumph is to acknowledge the difficulties and
disappointments of life, while affirming–in the teary-eyed final
reel–his cherished values of friendship and individual achievement. <i>It’s a Wonderful Life</i>
was not a big hit on its initial release, and it won no Oscars (Capra
and Stewart were nominated); but it continues to weave a special magic.”<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
I ike the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000VDDDVO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER">Amazon synopsis</a>:
“George Bailey has so many problems he is thinking about ending it all –
and it’s Christmas! As the angels discuss George, we see his life in
flashback. As George is about to jump from a bridge, he ends up rescuing
his guardian angel, Clarence. Clarence then shows George what his town
would have looked like if it hadn’t been for all of his good deeds over
the years. Will Clarence be able to convince George to return to his
family and forget suicide?”<br />
<br />
Now, imagine an actor being at ease on stage, alone, spinning off 30
different characters and making you believe that you are there with them
all in Bedford Falls. Imagine him being the family man George Bailey
standing alone on a bridge on a cold and snowy Christmas Eve.<br />
You know the end of the story of George Bailey, but it still
transfixes you – every time. I liked the Williamston Theatre take on it
from that first show: It’s “the story of how he got there, and how he
found his way back home. <i>This </i>reminds us of the power of perspective, friendship and family.”<br />
Theatre manager Chris Purchis, in that year’s program forward, tells
us just how much Lepard relates to this story. “What you are here to see
is a man who so loves the movie, ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ he wants to
share it with the world, or at least all of you…..The story is about how
one person can touch other people’s lives in ways they never imagined.”<br />
<br />
<b>Lepard loves this movie so much, that he energizes the story </b>in
a supernova power performance – a one-man 90-minute marathon. In his
words from our 2009 interview: “The show has been a great journey for
me. It is difficult and enjoyable at the same time. It takes a lot of
energy, and I can feel people when they take the trip with me, so that
keeps me going.”<br />
<br />
The energy and love for <i>It’s a Wonderful life </i>began — Lepard
tells James Sanford in the Lansing city Pulse — when he was 20 years
old and encountered the film. He later discovered Philip Van Doren
Stern’s original short story, <i>The Greatest Gift, </i>which had
inspired Capra for the film.<br />
<br />
In the interview with Sanford, Lepard
explained his attempt to create a stage version, then finding the Steve
Murray script. That one-man show earned Williamston Theatre a 2010
Pulsar Award for best play; and Lepard won for best actor in a play. He
also won the 2010 <i>Wilde </i>and <i>Pulsar Awards </i>for best actor for <i>Wonderful Life.</i><br />
<br />
A Haslett, MI native, Lepard is a natural on stage. He grew up as
part of the Singing Lepard Family – traveling the country with his
parents and three sisters in a bus, Partridge Family style, giving
gospel music concerts. A graduate of Michigan State University (theatre)
and the University of Nebraska (telecommunications), he did what many
aspiring film actors do. He headed off to the west coast.<br />
<br />
After 15 years in L.A., though, he felt the clarion call to come
home. Lepard’s been back in Michigan ever since, acting in various
theatres around the state, including Jeff Daniel’s <i>Purple Rose Theatre </i>in
Chelsea. In 2006 he and four other Purple Rose folks founded the
Williamston Theatre. Lepard is the executive director; his wife, Emily
Sutton-Smith is development director; Chris Purchis is managing
director; and Tony Caselli (who directs this play) is artistic director.<br />
<br />
<b>Bridging the worlds of theatre and film is all in a day’s work</b>
for Lepard. He’s on theatre faculty at Lansing Community College, a
visiting professor at Michigan State University, performs and directs in
area theatre productions, and in his spare moments, auditions for film
roles that fit into his non-stop schedule.<br />
Over the past couple of years, with the Michigan Film Incentive, new
movie opportunities have come along, including: the Michigan film, <i>Mr. Art Critic </i>(Frank)<i>; </i>appearances in <i>Whip It</i> (cop), <i>Conviction </i> (minister); <i>Alleged (R</i>ev. Sutherland), and <i>Red and Blue Marbles </i>(Thomas Jenkins); <i>Scream 4 </i>(teacher); and the TV role of Cyrus Layton on <i>Detroit 187.</i><br />
<br />
<b>While my acquaintance with John Lepard and WT </b>began in 2008, my virtual connection began because of a short film he made when in Hollywood. <i>The Limited: </i>That
little film was one of the first selections for director Stephen
Simon’s (“Somewhere in Time” and “What Dreams May Come”) launch of the
Spiritual Cinema Circle movie club, which is still going strong, seven
years later.<br />
<br />
I’m a believer in synchronicity, so I paid attention when friends
introduced Lepard to my husband and me that fall. We were having lunch
at Gracie’s Place, a restaurant across from the Williamston Theatre,
when Lepard strode in dressed in painting garb. They were already WT
fans, and he invited us all to come over and see the renovations going
on. We did.<br />
<br />
The rest of the story? I kept thinking what a wonderful person I’d
just met. Besides that, he seemed strangely familiar. I knew I’d heard
that name before. John Lepard. Meanwhile, I’d suggested that I might
write an article for our local paper about him and the theatre sometime.
I went home and did some detective work. It didn’t take long; the light
bulb came on once I checked the Internet Movie Database (IMDB).<br />
<br />
<i>The Limited: </i>I’d seen that short film in my Spiritual Cinema
Circle collection. I remembered that the movie had affected me for
quite some time. And I recalled that I’d been fascinated with the actor
who played John in the film, and drawn to the character (John) he
played.<br />
<br />
The Limited is a train. John is the main character who’s in an
accident and finds himself at the train station with hundreds of other
passengers rushing to climb aboard. As they ride on The Limited, life
flashes before them; and they must confront the choices they’ve made. I
suppose the message hit home, because I was beginning a transitional
phase in my life at the time.<br />
<br />
Lepard’s character, or the way he portrayed it, left an indelible
imprint. To think I’d enjoyed a particular actor in a tiny film, and
then later met him, was amazing to me. Lepard was just as amazed, as he
hadn’t realized the film had been picked up by Cinema Circle. So,
instinctively I became a fan of John Lepard, the actor, before I set
foot in Williamston Theatre. There, I’ve enjoyed his work in <i>Leaving Iowa; Flyover, USA: Voices of Men from the Midwest; and Home: Voices of Families of the Midwest.</i><br />
<br />
<i> </i> I’ve been visiting for three years, now. The more you
visit, the more you want others to discover this amazing place. You find
that you want to invite them to join you for a show, or do whatever you
can to help keep the <i>wonderful life</i> of Williamston Theatre in Williamston.<br />
<br />
<b>Lepard, as director, </b><b>writes in the most recent WT newsletter,</b>
“Our job is to make great theatre. We provide entertainment and escape
for our patrons. We preserve the heritage and the voice of the Midwest
in our plays. We also serve our community as an economic driver,
providing a complement to the many restaurants in the downtown area and
creating desperately needed jobs for Michigan artists.”<br />
<br />
So far, WT has managed to survive in a turbulent economy. Lepard
explains that over half the theatre revenue comes from donations. “We
ask you to be a part of the process… a part of the magic… an author of
our collective autobiography.” As playgoers who donate, we help secure
rights to the plays produced, hire designers, directors and actors,
build sets and make costumes, and pay the bills.<br />
<br />
Besides monetary donations or bringing a friend to a show, other ways
you can support WT include volunteering to usher a show or help do a
mailing. There are numerous items on the WT wish list, which you just
might be able to contribute. Check out the WT website at <a href="http://www.williamstontheatre.org/">www.williamstontheatre.org</a>.
Lepard also suggests that you can “make your voice heard.” “Contact
your local state senator and representative and let them know how
important the arts are to you. This will ensure that arts funding is
protected and continues to help arts organizations like the Williamston
Theatre.” And, of course, help keep the magic of theatre around us.<br />
<br />
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Photo courtesy of artist Carol Papaleo, owner Art U.P. Style Gallery in Marquette, MI. </div>
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<b>It’s amazing how many people love to take that trip to Bedford Fall</b>s
each Christmas. I had no idea, since it wasn’t one of the must-do
Christmas traditions when I was growing up – and not even in our house
when raising our own kids. I love the movie, yet never felt the tug for
a Christmas tradition…that it’s not Christmas unless ‘It’s a Wonderful
Life’ is included.<br />
<br />
Imagine my surprise – and delight – to discover that our daughter and
son-in-law LOVE the movie and it’s not Christmas unless they watch it.
And, at Thanksgiving, another surprise and double delight: Our son said,
yes, he and his girlfriend would love to go to the play. They both love
movies and she adores Jimmy Stewart and <i>It’s a Wonderful Life.</i><br />
<br />
<i> </i> How is it that this younger generation is in love with a
movie that’s 65 years old? Of course, the whole world loves James
Stewart and the character George Bailey. The essence of the film is
timeless. Turns out, as I discovered on Karolyn Grimes’ (the actress
who portrayed Zuzu) website, George Bailey is so loved, that he ranks in
the top 50 heroes of all time. This is out of 400 character nominees in
the American Film Institute. George Bailey, it seems, came in ninth out
of 400.<br />
<br />
I was excited to find Grimes’ passion for devoting her later years to
promoting the film. Zuzu was my favorite character in the movie. I’m
sure you have a favorite character — or part. Here’s mine. It’s the part
where little Zuzu Bailey is ill and George goes upstairs to comfort
her. She gives him the petals that had fallen from her rose, which he
pretends to paste back onto the flower, but stashes in his pocket.<br />
<br />
Zuzu’s petals are still in the pocket when George is on the bridge on
Christmas Eve…when angel Clarence shows George what life in his
community might have been like, had he not been born. It’s as if George,
like John riding The Limited, gets to see the significance of his life
choices. The petals remind him of the wonder of life.<br />
<br />
I walked out of the theatre on a cold, snowy December night in 2009 thinking to myself, “If only you could bottle up Lepard’s <i>This Wonderful Life’ </i>
into a film, so that you could see it anytime you wanted.” But then,
it wouldn’t be live theatre. I thought, maybe John Lepard’s performance
could just become a Christmas theatre classic.<br />
<br />
This year, my wish was granted. As one of those who clamored for an encore of <i>This Wonderful Life, </i>I
was thrilled to attend again with my family. Lepard inspires the George
Bailey in all of us. Of course, he sounds incredibly like Jimmy
Stewart. Such magic: He inspires us to spend some time in Bedford Falls
once a year.<br />
<br />
It’s Christmas…. Cheers! Let the gift of the season – <i>It’s a</i> <i>Wonderful Life </i>tradition — resume.<br />
<br />
<b> </b> <b> </b> <b> </b> <b> </b> <b> </b> <b> </b> <b>‘This Wonderful Life’ </b> <b> </b>By
Steve Murray Through Dec. 23 8 p.m. Thursday & Friday 3 p.m. & 8
p.m. Saturday 2 p.m. Sunday $16-$24 Williamston Theatre, 122 S. Putnam
St., Williamston (517) 655-SHOW <a href="http://www.williamstontheatre.com/">www.williamstontheatre.com</a> Special performances: Friday, Nov. 25 3pm, Tues. Dec. 20 and Wed. Dec. 21 at 8pm<br />
<b>Links for more articles about John Lepard, “This Wonderful Life” and Williamston Theatre: </b> <b><i>Filmography for John Lepard </i></b><b>at </b><a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0503234/">IMDB</a><br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/trivia">Trivia notes on It’s a Wonderful Life the movie at IMDB</a><br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0503234/">The Limited</a><br />
<a href="http://www.mientertainmentreport.com/storage/audio/interviews/lepardwonderfullife.mp3">Michigan Entertainment Report – Audio: Jim Fordyce interviews John Lepard</a><br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/quotes">Memorable quotes from <i>It’s a Wonderful Life </i>on IMDB</a><br />
<a href="http://npaper-wehaa.com/citypulse/2011/11/23/#?article=1450658">Lepard’s second ‘Life’ from Lansing City Pulse</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-3739-wonderful-performance.html">2009 City Pulse ‘Wonderful Performance’ by Paul Wozniak</a><br />
<a href="http://detroit.broadwayworld.com/article/Williamston-Theatre-Presents-THIS-WONDERFUL-LIFE-1125-1223-20111103#.TrQqH3CsBPA.facebook">Broadway World — Williamston Theatre’s ‘This Wonderful Life’</a><br />
<a href="http://www.examiner.com/theater-in-detroit/congrats-to-the-2010-wilde-award-winners-and-to-encore-michigan">Wilde Awards in 2010 Best Actor for Drama</a><br />
<a href="http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=5464">‘One Man’s Life is Wonderful’ by Daniel Skora</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/lansing/article-4341-places-please--itufffds-time-for-this-yearufffds-pulsar-nominations.html">Lansing City Pulse 2010 Pulsar nominations</a><br />
<a href="http://metatheatres.org/blog">Michigan Equity Theatre Alliance – META Blog</a><br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0342216/">Actress Karolyn Grimes as Zuzu (IMDB)</a><br />
<b> </b> <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Greatest_Gift_%28story%29"><i>‘The Greatest Gift’ by Philip VanDoren Stern</i></a><br />
<a href="http://www.zuzu.net/appearances/index.html">Zuzu (Karolyn Grimes)</a> celebrates 65<sup>th</sup> anniversary of <i>It’s a Wonderful Life</i><br />
<i><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-UP-Style-Gallery/162537647103280">Artist Carol Papaleo’s Facebook Page – Art U.P.Style Gallery </a></i><br />
<i> </i> <a href="http://www.encoremichigan.com/article.html?article=5443">Three Stars, One Small Theatre by Michael Margolin</a><br />
<br />
(published Dec. 3, 2011 at LivingstonTalk.com)SusanGailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18423469933185037753noreply@blogger.com0