Luck

With a littl 20160313_074950 e bit of luck I left Reno on the Zephyr yesterday morning with enough cash in my pocket to buy lunch in the dining car. Not so for grandpa and he’s the one who begged us not to honor, “Open Your Umbrella Indoors Day.” Little J and I took our chances.

Okay, so I have to admit I did win the money the day before and grandpa may have been right. Luck turned a corner upon arrival at the Amtrak station.

First off, trains don’t recognize Daylight Savings Time. Think about it – how can a train leave Chicago on schedule, arrive at all the westbound stops according to time table commitments, and make up an hour between Winnemucca and Reno? The wait at the station… a little over an hour.

Second, near blizzard weather. Two buses cancelled the trip over the summit leaving two busloads of passengers the opportunity to observe the winter storm in the comfort of a coach seat. Finding three empty seats together in a sold out train? We took our chances behind a young man determined to catch up on all his phone calls between Reno and Sacramento. Eric commented that the foul mouth, drug dealing, gang influenced blather would stop once we reached the non-service areas. He was right about that. These were the opportunities to admire the young man’s latest rap tunes. Apparently when he wasn’t doing back flips off the stage, he was a musician, of sorts. Reminder to self – do not sit anywhere near young men wearing black fedoras, black leather jackets, black leather pants, skinny underwear (now how would we know that? – first time I ever saw baggy low rider pants in leather), jewels on every finger, ear buds implanted.

Third, dinner in the diner. The goal was to show Little J what dining on the train is all about. It seemed our discourse about fine dining on our honeymoon trip 46 years ago was as uninspiring as the drug induced rap job two cars behind us. Little J, as unimpressed as he was, did point out that the NON-silverware did still have an Amtrak emblem and the not-so-fine linen PAPER table cloths and a couple of pens provided artistic distraction while waiting patiently for the fine mac and cheese dining experience.

Fourth, delays. What more can I say other than one must always remember there is such a thing as “train time.”

Fifth – back to the umbrella – would it open once we arrived at our final destination in a deluge of rain? Of course not.

Why We Write

The memoir writing slows as I spend more time researching how to do it rather than adding words to the book. Memoir accountability this week – zilch. Research accountability – hours. It’s a good thing the memoir class begins this Friday.

Meanwhile, Amber Lea Starfire has an inspiring article on her Writing Through Life blog today. Learn What Makes a Memoir “Good” here.

Aboard the Zephyr yesterday, I finished reading Why We Write About Ourselves: Twenty Memoirists on Why They Expose Themselves (and Others) in the Name of Literature. It’s excellent. But, I may need to read the 20 something memoirs before I write mine. Incentive to write: strive to be in the 2nd edition.

Barbie Day

There is a small disagreement between my sister and me as to who officially owns these dolls. I think the one on the left may be an original Barbie. The doll on the right is of unknown ancestry. Since I happen to have these dolls in my possession, for now we’ll just say one is mine and one is hers. Read the rest of the story and then you decide whose is whose.

During our Michigan years, Grandma Bull traveled by train across country from California to visit several times. She would plump down into the most comfortable chair in the living room and spend her days creating a generous wardrobe for me, my sister and our dolls. We’d fall asleep at night to the click of knitting needles and wake in the morning to the whir of the sewing machine. The clothes that best fit the doll on the left happen to match clothes I wore in photos from that era. Neighborhood girls envied my doll’s fashionable clothes which I stored neatly folded in a round pink zippered suitcase.

Backing up in time before the Barbie doll age, I’m going share a small secret. When my sister was about 3 years old there was a big box from Grandma under the Christmas tree with her name on it. With toddler exuberance she ripped open the package to discover a chubby cheeked baby doll nestled in a crocheted blanket. A complete layette of pink baby clothes filled the bottom half of the box. My sister wailed “NO NO NO,” tossed the doll across the room, and moved on to the next gift, something better suited to her already developing tomboy characteristics. We never told Grandma.

Which doll do you think might belong to me?

A to Z Challenge

It’s been a few years since I participated in the annual A to Z Blogging Challenge so I’m thinking it’s time for another round. My 2013 Wittbits A to Z has no particular theme but I do have a few ideas for this year. According the blogging from A to Z rules we are not allowed to reveal our theme until March 21st so I can procrastinate, as is my usual habit, for 12 more days. The fun begins on April Fools Day. Meanwhile, if you care to join in on this energetic experience, sign up here. As of this moment, I am #688 out of 1103. Numbers are subject to change as some bloggers will drop out or face termination if determined to be inappropriate. At least they haven’t deleted me… yet. Let me know if you sign up so I can visit.

Stories From The Heart VIII

Stories from the Heart

Big step for me ahead. I have signed up for my first Women’s Writing Conference. Notice I said “first.” I’m hoping to gain enough confidence to keep on going. As a 16 year member of Story Circle Network, this is the venue that seems right for me. Although I have not participated in a writing circle for several years, I feel as if I already know some of the women who will be there, and I already know they are a sincere and compassionate bunch.

Now about that “comfort” part. This is definitely a leap out of my comfort zone as I am much more comfortable sitting in my private little office with only the birds and squirrels for an audience. Not that I’d stand up in front of anyone and expect an audience. There’s a fear there and I suspect I know where it started. Way back in junior college in a creative story class my instructor called on me to read what he said was an A+ story. That would have been fine if he hadn’t added, “and see if you can do it without your face turning red.” The rest of that story is obvious. It’s time to get over that. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll have the courage to share one of my pieces at the open mike night. Oh no, now what kind of commitment have I made?