Archive for September, 2010
Daddy’s Carved & Whittled Menagerie: How he started
For decades my father carved a menagerie of animals from walnut and pine. Some of this wood came from our own place. He whittles these with two blades of a pocket knife. He’s given away 100s of these to folks who proudly display them on their desks and mantle pieces. He started to write up [...]
“Where the Mountain Takes My,” by Ron Gersten with Gerry Mandel
“”>Where the Mountain Takes Me,” Gerry Mandel’s biographical novel of Ron Gersten’s life, is a good read. From a severly neglected childhood Ron went on to build character deep, wide, and tall. I find the story of Ron’s severely neglected childhood most compelling and moving. It’s what Ron did with his hardships that makes this [...]
Jack London Riehl’s “Heart & Soul: Inspiring Collection of Light Verse on Life, Love, Faith, and the Military”
My cousin Jack London Riehl died this week. He lived to see his book of poems published just one week before his death. “Heart and Soul: An Inspiring Collection of Light Verse on Life, Love, Faith, and the Military” Author bio: Jack London Riehl earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Washington University, St. Louis, [...]
Submission Call: “Wisdom Has a Voice: Every Daughter’s Memories of Mother”
Anthology Call for Submissions Wisdom Has a Voice: Every Daughter’s Memories of Mother Editors: Kate Farrell & Lynn Henriksen This groundbreaking anthology, to be released October 2011, will include 25 true and compelling stories about mother (or mother figures) that express the wisdom shared or learned from a particular experience. We are looking for personal [...]
Review: “The Spirit of A Woman: Stories to Empower & Inspire”
Story Circle Network just reviewed “Spirit of a Woman: Stories to Empower & Inspire.” I’m still thrilled to be included in this anthology as I re-read the essays that spill so richly from this book.
Hard Times: Christmas 1934, by Erwin A. Thompson
I’ve been listening to the song Stephen Foster’s 1854 song “Hard Times Come Again No More.” You’ll see the lyrics below. Then, this evening, my father sent me this story to post about the hard times of Christmas 1934. May they come again no more. –Janet ______________________ Hard Times: Christmas, 1934 by Erwin A. Thompson [...]
Decoding the Love: “Cynthia knows her weeds.”
For those of The Old School–such as my father–praise and expressions of love aren’t given casually or lavishly. I can count on one hand the times my father has said in words that he loves me. He shows his love through actions. When praise comes, prick up your ears. It might come in ways you’d [...]
How a helping hand made all the difference. “Hard Choice,” by Erwin A. Thompson
Hard Choice #1: Combining Wheat Being short of money was nothing new for Ruth and me in 1948 when the last of our three children was born. Our first choice of course was to have food on the table, clothes on the children, gasoline in the car, and parts for the car when it broke [...]
Anne Schroeder’s “Room of Her Own”: She transformed an ordinary garden shed into a dream writing room
I met Anne Schroeder through Women Writing the West. You’ve seen her before on Riehlife when I interviewed Anne about her humorous and insightful memoir “Ordinary Aphrodite” which chronicles her attempts to live a balanced life. Anne’s story of creating her dream writing room out of ordinary materials proves that it’s not the the money, [...]
Multi-talents: Artists & Writers as Farmers
The mission for Riehlife is “Creating connections through the arts and across cultures.” Viola! That’s the definition of multi-talented creatives. Here’s the fourth post in a cycle of five discussing multi-talents among creative people. My guest column Creative Catalyst appears on Telling Her Stories: The Broad View for Story Circle Network. Multi-talented? Maybe artists and [...]
Entries(RSS)