* NOSTALGIC SUNDAY *

It's Time for Another Nostalgic Sunday!

 

 

 

Yay! It's October and we've finally had some cooler temperatures here at the new homestead. I LOVE fall, as I've expressed many, many times on my blog! The leaves aren't changing colors yet, so I'm posting photos from times past....thus, the Nostalgic Sunday post. :)

 

 

 

 

These three pictures were taken on November 13, 2012...almost four years ago. It seems like a lifetime ago, and it seems like just the other day. Our lives were in the midst of changes, big changes, and the downsizing began.

 

 

I miss that house sometimes, and the happy memories that were made there, but one of the best things about "happy" memories, is that they go along with you, no matter where you are.

 

When I think all the way back to every house/apartment I ever lived in, I miss every one of them for various reasons(except the two crappy apartments in Germany...thank goodness we lived in nice ones the majority of those years) And even during those years of unhappiness and loneliness spent with my first husband...I have fond memories of the places we lived, because I enjoyed so much of how I made each of them into a "home." Does that make sense?

 

I've told Ron many times over the years that I would be happy living anywhere with him, no matter how small or old the place might be, and that's how it's always been and I know it always will be.

 

 (P.S. The new background photo is one I also took around the same time.)

 

 

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

* ANOTHER LEGEND LEAVES US *

I  was shocked and saddened to hear about the recent death of Merle Haggard. He was younger than I'd thought, too. I guess because of his hard life...and hard livin'....it took its toll on him.

As a teenager, I DID NOT like country music. I was into The Beatles, MoTown, Rolling Stones, etc.

But as a young 20-Something wife of an Army Specialist in Germany during the early 1970s, I learned to not only tolerate country music, but to really love many of the songs and performers. We had no TV or telephone, but did have a nice stereo system with a radio, turntable, and great speakers. I listened to the Armed Forces Network (AFN) all day long, and the programs varied because of the diverse community of the US Army. Pretty smart, huh? SO, when country music came on, I began to like it and sing along. Plus, when bands played at our local Service Club (a small version of a USO) they, too, played an assortment of music genre.

One of the songs performed countless times, "Silver Wings" was a big hit of Merle Haggard's. It held special meaning to all of us wives and servicemen since we were so far from home...and to those who maybe had to leave their spouses back in the States.

from You Tube

When a "celebrity" dies, I'm less saddened because of what we still have them: movies, records, TV appearances, etc. I'll be playing my Merle Haggard CDs and loving that voice of his again and again.

What a handsome man he was...way back when....

* BOOKS GALORE FROM THE DOLLAR STORE *

I did it again! I went to Dollar Tree for approximately five items, and came home with twenty eight...SEVEN of those being hardcover books! (I just blogged about this same topic on February 8th)

 

I just cannot resist books. I almost walked right past the aisle, but then noticed the book section seemed to have expanded since my last visit. So,  my cart was magnetically pulled to the left. What could I do but hang on and go with it?

 

I've never been one to completely "judge a book by its cover," but if it's obvious it's something gory, zombie-like, science fiction, etc....I know I won't read it. Out of these seven books, I'm aware of two authors and their genre: Bill Geist and William Least Heat Moon, but the other five I chose for either or all of the following reasons:

 

1) I liked the title

2) I read a few of the blurbs on the back covers

3) I read the first few sentences of Chapter One

4) The cover did catch my attention

 



 

So...which book to read first?? What a decision to make...although I knew if I didn't like it, I'd try another one. I chose One For The Books, by Joe Queenan. I mean....look at that cover! A book, about the love of books, with lots of colorful books on the cover! One of the reviews on Amazon, by the Minneapolis Star Tribune, says this: "A passionate, at times hilarious, account of a life spent reading and rereading."

 

Mr. Queenan is definitely a fabulous satirist and humorist, and a true bibliophile! I've read about the first 50 pages and I'm loving it. Some of his opinions and experiences pertaining to books are laugh-out-loud funny. A few I agree with...and others I don't.

 

I'll post my final thoughts when I finish reading it.

 

~~~

 

What about you? Do you buy books very often? Where have you found some of your best buys? Did any of these random purchases make a huge difference in your life? I have one that immediately comes to  mind:

 

 

I bought this at the Army PX in a small German town in the 1970s. It changed my life! 

 

 



* HAPPY BIRTHDAY! *

Today is my oldest son's birthday. I was a mere child myself when Scott was born on this day, July 28. The following is the first couple of paragraphs in the chapter titled, "Were Those Salad Tongs?" from my memoir, From Pigtails to Chin Hairs: A Memoir & More.

~~~

The U.S. Army almost killed my newborn son and me. Actually, it wasn’t the entire Army—just a few medical personnel at William Beaumont Hospital in Ft. Bliss, Texas.

It was the end of July 1972, a week before my due date. I was swollen, bloated, and miserable. Our living room “furniture” provided zero comfort, such as it was. Two webbed lawn chairs near the black and white TV were the sum of our décor. My only alternative was to lie on our bed with its saggy, lumpy mattress.

 

~~~

 

Scott and me in Germany, 1973

 

 

 

As you can see from the photo above, we both made it through the horrible delivery. Scott was a plump, happy, and healthy little guy! (Ah, for me...it would be nice to be that slender again...and young, but in totally different circumstances.)

 

I know, too, that I wouldn't be the person I am today, had I not lived through all the ups and downs in my life, and that makes it all worth it.

 

Some of you will remember the very frightening time in the summer of 2010 when Scott had a burst appendix, while being in England for business. http://beckypovich.blogspot.com/2010/07/happy-birthday-scott.html

 

 

Happy Birthday, Scott! I love you humongously! J

 

 

 

 

"Grown don't mean nothing to a mother. A child is a child. They get bigger, older, but grown? What's that suppose to mean? In my heart it don't mean a thing." ~ Toni Morrison, Beloved, 1987

 

 

"There is an enduring tenderness in the love of a mother to a son that transcends all other affections of the heart." – Washington Irving

 

  

 

* NOSTALGIC SUNDAY *

It's Time Again for Another Nostalgic Sunday!

 

 

In my attempt to get back into blogging on a somewhat regular basis, I thought the best place to start would be with a "Nostalgic Sunday" post. Those of you who have been around for a few years will remember I used to post these just about every Sunday. Then it got less and less...and I'm sad to say the last two were November 2014, and August 2014. Well, that just won't do! I think I can manage at least once a month.

 

 

I'm nostalgic today for several reasons:

 

• I'm in the beginning stages of writing a piece for the 2015 St. Louis production of Listen to your Mother.  < Check out the site for complete information on how to submit a story or buy tickets to the show.
•  I've been seeing and hearing prop (propeller) planes again all over the skies.
•  I've been going through lots of old B&W photos, along with my mental images for my sequel I'm also working on. *note about that farther below*
•  I'm feeling the most nostalgic because of an aroma! Isn't it both amazing, and yet so simple, that certain odors trigger powerful memories? Many times it's because of a certain food, or perfume, or even logs burning in the fireplace. I think this particular one might be a bit unusual. (Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of it!) This aroma is that of dryer sheets or fabric softener!

        

Many times when I'm outside with my beloved dog, Vern, we meander all around the sidewalks and grassy areas in our condo complex. (It seems that 90% of the residents here also own a dog or two, so there are plenty of odors for Vern to sniff!)

 

 

It doesn't matter whether it's a weekday or weekend, or daytime or evening. Whiffs of various laundry fragrances permeate the air and I'm immediately taken back...like a hopscotch game, back and forth between my childhood, my teenage years, and especially my very young married life.

The short version of "my very young married life" is this:

1. Lived in Germany for a year with first husband and baby son, Scotty.
2. Rented apartment in tiny town.
3. Became best friends with another army wife, Debbie.
4. We sometimes did our laundry together.
5. Once in a while splurged and bought a German brand detergent because it smelled heavenly and the PX only sold Tide.
6. We'd gather our deutsche marks, walk across the street and down the block, while taking turns pushing Scotty's stroller.

I wonder how many women find joy in such simple things? I believe there are "loads" of us! J

One more thing...The note above about working on my sequel...

A long time ago I didn't like using the word "work" when mentioning my writing. I thought I should refer to it as "writing" my memoir, or contest submission, or essay.

But after writing, rewriting, editing, rewriting again, deleting entire paragraphs, printing pages to read and edit again with a red pencil, wadding up paper after paper of crap I'd written... I became a believer! It is WORK!

 

Oh, but then again what beautiful and wondrous work it is!

~~~

I'd like to welcome two new followers! And as Sandi, William, and Lisa (from my previous post) were different and unique, so are Melody Jacobs and Dimple Khadi. (I had trouble trying to get Dimple Khadi's blog link to post, so I'll attempt doing that again later.) I hope you'll both stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see!




"The final lesson a writer learns is that everything can nourish the writer. The dictionary, a new word, a voyage, an encounter, a talk on the street, a book, a phrase learned." - Anais Nin