Tales are deep wells with fresh water to drink. Retold they lift you up with hidden sight and then you see forward with a gleam of historical fortune in your eyes.
Extreme simplicity is not a wonderful thing. Grampa did not want a baby in the house and everybody knows that comes from dancing with boys.... and you might not go home to deal with the cows. Did he take Gramma to dances to get his own kids? Or did the stork just drop them off.
That's what I do in my Substack called Harshbarger Mills. If you can find it, Read "Back to Egypt, Part 1. Part 2 was posted today and tomorrow is the grand finale. My grandmother was nearly raped and her father tracked down the assailant with a shotgun. He was a lay preacher who pastored 3 churches. Gives a new meaning to the word "dynamic"
Your Katy stories are so rich with details and beauty, even the sad ones. I love the little story about herding the cows and staying with them. Also, that secret little place she went to and lying there in the sun. To get away from her father's wrath. At least she had places of refuge.
Katy talks about imagination "used to be" the best entertainment--in the world we inhabit now, I think imagination IS the best entertainment. It won't destruct. And can happen in any climate. Let's keep it alive and growing, not hidden!1
Great Katy Story! Her imagination made fun play for you and your brother (my husband). I’ve heard you two talk about stories she read to you, or poems she recited. She was always playing little games with our kids. “Cat’s Cradle”, “Mother-May-I”, and, of course, the big favorite from toddler to teen, “Hide And Seek”! 💞
Fascinating to hear about life in those times. Kids will always find a way to be kids, even though poor and overworked. I enjoy these visits from Katy.
Reminded me a lot of my own childhood. Hand me down clothes were the norm. As to toys I had a butterfly with wheels at the end of a stick. On rainy days, I was given a box full of buttons of various sizes and colour. I built families with them.
I can just see that rolling butterfly on a stick. And I can't even tell you how many times my son sorted out the buttons we kept in a large cookie tin. It kept him busy for an hour or two and then he dumped them back in again.
Thanks for sharing these stories, Sharron. I'm happy that Katy had time to play and develop her imagination. I grew up in two neighborhoods with lots of kids to play with. Even the older children played with us little ones: hide and seek, Simon says, red light/green light, blind man's buff, all played outdoors. Half our time was spent trying to agree what game to play. When Katy talks about laying in grass, my first thought was of all the chiggers bites she must have gotten.
I remember the white jar of Mum deodorant. And the marbles… I still have some of mine. Won by playing “for keeps.”
My best friend and I read every Nancy Drew from our library…. we’d ride our bikes and fill the baskets. Then crawl under my parents’ deck to read on our bellies.
Remember elementary school staples: jacks and hopscotch? Remember clamp-on roller skates on sidewalks, skate key hanging on a string around your neck. I remember reading borrowed Oz books - the entire series - long into the night under covers with a flashlight. Magical
Thanks for your comment about Katy's Story. I have them assembled into a 32-page , non-illustrated book. I made them for family and a few of Katy's old friends for Xmas. But they cost $10 apiece at the printers here where I live - too expensive. However, I am planning on offering the "e-book" version free. I would email a .pdf file and readers could. print it out themselves on their home printers.
You might think about exporting the book as ePub, Sharron; that makes it easy to upload the content to Amazon Kindle (the cover graphic and summation are left as an exercise to the student, however 😉). I used Apple's Pages app, which makes ePub generation trivial (Apple also has a Books app, so it's in their best interest to encourage writers to post books on the store). Just a thought, but it would make it easier for some people to read, and you might be able to charge $1.99 each or whatever.
Great advice, Jack. I will definitely look into the possibilities. I assume any 13-year-old could navigate the ins and outs of these applications. I surely couldn't.
<cough> Actually, I was totally flummoxed by Amazon’s Kindle online app… until a fellow Medium writer pointed out how Kindle can import ePub files directly, suddenly my book stopped looking like crap.
Tales are deep wells with fresh water to drink. Retold they lift you up with hidden sight and then you see forward with a gleam of historical fortune in your eyes.
Looking back sometimes can help us look forward, right? Thank you, Richard
Deja vu, Sharron.
Yes!
Love the nostalgia and the memories…. I bet you have made memories people will remember fondly as well.
I wish, but, alas, probably not. Thanks Wade, for reading about Katy.
Extreme simplicity is not a wonderful thing. Grampa did not want a baby in the house and everybody knows that comes from dancing with boys.... and you might not go home to deal with the cows. Did he take Gramma to dances to get his own kids? Or did the stork just drop them off.
"Dancing leads to sex." An old Catholic school rhetoric. In the 70s we women learned that sex can lead to dancing! Umm...so I am told.
My grandmother told me stories like these. To this day I remember every one of them. Thank you.
Write down grandma's stories! If you don't keep her alive, Joan, who will? We are all interested in how things were for our families.
That's what I do in my Substack called Harshbarger Mills. If you can find it, Read "Back to Egypt, Part 1. Part 2 was posted today and tomorrow is the grand finale. My grandmother was nearly raped and her father tracked down the assailant with a shotgun. He was a lay preacher who pastored 3 churches. Gives a new meaning to the word "dynamic"
Okay! I will check that out!
I admire so much of the generation that came before mine. Many were poor but all were rich in experience.
They were not sissies, that's for sure. Thanks Ron.
I always love Katy stories. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Joel. I hope they make you think of your own old ones and tempt you to write some of their tales, too.
Your Katy stories are so rich with details and beauty, even the sad ones. I love the little story about herding the cows and staying with them. Also, that secret little place she went to and lying there in the sun. To get away from her father's wrath. At least she had places of refuge.
Yes, she did. Then, when she reached age 16, she found no place left to "hide", so she left home , and She made it!
Katy talks about imagination "used to be" the best entertainment--in the world we inhabit now, I think imagination IS the best entertainment. It won't destruct. And can happen in any climate. Let's keep it alive and growing, not hidden!1
👍🏻⭐️
Great Katy Story! Her imagination made fun play for you and your brother (my husband). I’ve heard you two talk about stories she read to you, or poems she recited. She was always playing little games with our kids. “Cat’s Cradle”, “Mother-May-I”, and, of course, the big favorite from toddler to teen, “Hide And Seek”! 💞
Remember "Roley Poley Flippety Flop"?
I DO! “Ice cream and soda pop.”
Fascinating to hear about life in those times. Kids will always find a way to be kids, even though poor and overworked. I enjoy these visits from Katy.
Thank you , Jim. You are such a faithful reader, no doubt you have seen these all before... sorry.
Reminded me a lot of my own childhood. Hand me down clothes were the norm. As to toys I had a butterfly with wheels at the end of a stick. On rainy days, I was given a box full of buttons of various sizes and colour. I built families with them.
I can just see that rolling butterfly on a stick. And I can't even tell you how many times my son sorted out the buttons we kept in a large cookie tin. It kept him busy for an hour or two and then he dumped them back in again.
What a beautiful connection … so touching.
Thanks, Barrie.
Thanks for sharing these stories, Sharron. I'm happy that Katy had time to play and develop her imagination. I grew up in two neighborhoods with lots of kids to play with. Even the older children played with us little ones: hide and seek, Simon says, red light/green light, blind man's buff, all played outdoors. Half our time was spent trying to agree what game to play. When Katy talks about laying in grass, my first thought was of all the chiggers bites she must have gotten.
Hah! Me, too. Bugs!! Ick!
Wonderful! Thank you.
I remember the white jar of Mum deodorant. And the marbles… I still have some of mine. Won by playing “for keeps.”
My best friend and I read every Nancy Drew from our library…. we’d ride our bikes and fill the baskets. Then crawl under my parents’ deck to read on our bellies.
I don’t know why that was our reading spot.
Remember elementary school staples: jacks and hopscotch? Remember clamp-on roller skates on sidewalks, skate key hanging on a string around your neck. I remember reading borrowed Oz books - the entire series - long into the night under covers with a flashlight. Magical
Yes! Skates and bikes were our tickets to freedom. Even though the skate key would sometimes bounce up and hit you in the teeth.
My best friend from the neighborhood recently said, “We never ran out of things to do.”
This is a delightful series, Sharron! Are you planning on putting it all together into a book? Or have you already?
Thanks for your comment about Katy's Story. I have them assembled into a 32-page , non-illustrated book. I made them for family and a few of Katy's old friends for Xmas. But they cost $10 apiece at the printers here where I live - too expensive. However, I am planning on offering the "e-book" version free. I would email a .pdf file and readers could. print it out themselves on their home printers.
You might think about exporting the book as ePub, Sharron; that makes it easy to upload the content to Amazon Kindle (the cover graphic and summation are left as an exercise to the student, however 😉). I used Apple's Pages app, which makes ePub generation trivial (Apple also has a Books app, so it's in their best interest to encourage writers to post books on the store). Just a thought, but it would make it easier for some people to read, and you might be able to charge $1.99 each or whatever.
Great advice, Jack. I will definitely look into the possibilities. I assume any 13-year-old could navigate the ins and outs of these applications. I surely couldn't.
<cough> Actually, I was totally flummoxed by Amazon’s Kindle online app… until a fellow Medium writer pointed out how Kindle can import ePub files directly, suddenly my book stopped looking like crap.