On Friday, Norma arrived at school late, after a frustrating morning at the Jason’s, where she stayed as a boarder, doing various chores to earn her keep. Everything seemed to go wrong. Mrs. Jason was still in bed when she woke up, and the girls were playing grown-up in the… Read More »Happenings in Paradise—The Paris Bulletin
Rain pelted down on the people of Paris as they entered the community hall to officially name their town. Water from the spring run-off flowed in rivulets across the street, producing a mixture of gravel and gumbo that stuck to their boots, adding a layer of mud to every step.… Read More »Happenings in Paradise – A Journalist is Born
Norma and Doreen moved languorously through those first days of summer. Trying to get the worst out of the way, they rushed to finish their daily chores, spurred by an urgency to spend their extra hours together. In Norma’s family, ‘helping out’ was a well established tradition: Norma and her brother… Read More »Happenings in Paradise-The Letter
It was June, and the sun hovered on the horizon until close to midnight, rising three hours later, but it never got dark. Between sunset and sunrise, there was a smokey dusk, and if people couldn’t sleep, they lit a lamp so they could putter around or read. The constant… Read More »Happenings in Paradise-Summer Begins
We had a flock of chickens once. I grew up on a farm, so I thought I knew all about chickens. I remember my mother ordering them and having them shipped special delivery to our general store. She thought about her order carefully; Rhode Island Reds were the hardiest, Leghorns… Read More »When Chickens Ruled the Roost
I’m walking on the road to our house. I’m all alone, but I’m not scared. Besides, I can see all around me. I can see the farm where the Burmeys live—it’s on the right side of me. I can see the little bushes on the left side, and a little… Read More »All Alone on a Prairie Road
“For a younger person,” Carl Jung says, “it is almost a sin—and certainly a danger—to be too much occupied with himself. But for the aging person, it is a duty and a necessity to give serious attention to himself.” Like Jung, I believe that the end stage in life, where… Read More »Solitude: The Gift of Reflection
We bought a 100 year-old French Canadian farmhouse once. It wasn’t a wise thing to do. We knew that right away. But we had two small children, all of our belongings in a van, and no where to live. It was 1967 and Vancouver Island, where my husband had just… Read More »Our Dream Home in the Country
Even before I open my eyes, I can hear my mother humming. She is singing softly, so she won’t wake us up, “You are my Sunshine, my only sunshine, you make me happy when skies are grey.” And not only that. I can hear birds outside, chirping. Right away I… Read More »A Senior Remembers: A Near Tragedy In Our Wellies
I owned a Volkswagen van once. We needed one for hauling seaweed for our organic garden, and carrying stuff around for our hobby farm. We knew there would be lots of them available—this was 1973, and many of the hippies who owned them were back now, from their travels in… Read More »A Senior’s Early Years—The Old VW Van
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