Life in the fast lane--where's the on ramp?

By Pat_B - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Monday, January 14, 2013

There's more horse's a$$es than horses.

There were professors and administrators at my desk every day, asking questions, making their down-their-nose pronouncements, generally projecting the fact they were in charge and I was a petty functionary. Do you think one of them would admit things got done whether they were there or not, but if... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Leaving Dakota - Excerpt

Note - Years ago my mother told me she was six and the fever struck in mid-summer, but official records show Bert caught Typhoid in November, when she was eleven. Typhoid fever struck the Yakima Valley in the fall of 1917, and in November the whole family got sick, except for little Roy, who’d eaten... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

Homesteading the Dakota Territory (excerpt)

As soon as they arrived and set up a temporary camp, the men worked together to drill wells and build sod houses and stock barns on all of their claims. Sod structures were built by layering plowed strips of sod from the virgin prairie to a height of about eight feet to form walls. Openings were... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, January 11, 2013

The Olden Days - excerpt

Lucy was nineteen and Bert was two years older when they married in 1905. Their daughter Margaret Estella was born in August, 1906. Mae (Nettie Marian) was born in January of 1908, followed by Ella Grace in March 1909. In order to support his family, Bert worked as an itinerant carpenter, taking... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Dusty attics and old scrapbooks

Sometimes when you get into Ancestry.com it's like finding a scrapbook from your grandmother's childhood. The census records fill in a few blanks, as do the military muster files. Cleared up a few of my questions... I had this scene from my grandmother's early married days - Lucy and Bert in about... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Live Poets and Society

At the Labor Day Bumbershoot festival in Seattle a few years back I went to the author's pavillion to hear a poetry reading. Bumbershoot takes place on the grounds at the Space Needle / Children's Science Center / Music Museum. It draws thousands of people, and when you go in the gate you buy... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The Timetables of History

I bought this big ol' paperback reference book years ago on the recommendation of my Journalism teacher. He said it would give writers a perspective on the era when they were doing a story on some long ago time. It's a general info source that functions like those newspaper reprints from the date... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Henry's final project - Part 2

Henry grinned. The Committee already knew there was going to be a vacancy. Although if he’d thought he was going to stay on Seven, Henry might not have wanted to give up that job. “What do you think of that? Being a street cleaner?” “I dunno," Robbie said. "But it beats getting sent to Five, if... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Henry's final project, part 1

Henry had made up his mind to give up the attempt to get Margaret’s forgiveness. It’s too much to ask. I don’t deserve it. He got to the coffee shop early, not certain she’d even keep their date. Orrin was no longer his shadow, and in a way he missed him. He felt like Pinocchio without Jiminy... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, January 5, 2013

The Green, Green Grass of Home...

Tom Jones sang that one the saddest and best. Why I'm thinking of it today? I dunno. Maybe it's that the green is under snow, and the winter doldrums have me. I oughtta be thinking songs like "Hey, Good Lookin', whatcha got cookin'? How about cookin' something up with me?" or "You get a line, I'll... Sign in to see full entry.

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Sometimes you have to write it down in order to learn what you really think about life, what it means, how to do what's best. Sometimes you need feedback from someone else to put things in perspective.

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