The Closing of Sweet Briar

I was dismayed yesterday to learn that Sweet Briar College, which is located north of us up the Shenandoah Valley, is closing. The graduating class of 2015 will be its last.

The women's college was established in 1901.

I attended Hollins College, now Hollins University, which is also a women's college. So this announcement shook the sisterhood, as it were, of women's colleges. They are becoming fewer. Young women do not want to attend all-female schools, particularly ones set in rural areas.

Hollins remains all-female in its undergrad courses, but its masters levels classes are co-ed. According to Hollins president, Nancy Gray, the Hollins community remains on sound financial footing. Here is part of her letter to students and faculty that went out yesterday after Sweet Briar's announcement:

I want to assure you that Hollins is strong and growing stronger as we approach our 175th anniversary in 2017. For example:

• We are on solid financial footing, operating with no debt.
• Thanks in large part to the generosity of our alumnae, our endowment has reached a record $180 million, making it the fifth largest among all independent colleges in Virginia. 
• Our most recent fundraising campaign, completed in 2010, raised $162 million, and remains the largest of any southern women's college.
• Our Board of Trustees demonstrated its commitment to faculty and staff with a five-year compensation plan.

We see evidence of the value of the educational experience at Hollins every day: 

• Students from 44 states and 17 countries are enrolled here.
• Applications for undergraduate admission are at the highest level in 12 years.
• The quality and diversity of applicants to our undergraduate and eight coed graduate programs are outstanding. 
• We are growing our academic programs. Last year, we added a new honors program, a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental sciences, new graduate certificates in playwriting, and a graduate program in children's book writing and illustration. 

At Hollins, learning has never been confined to the classroom. But in the last few years we have re-doubled our efforts to link living and learning by expanding our internship and experiential learning programs - thanks in large part to the partnerships with so many Hollins alumnae.

Young women come to Hollins eager to learn, ready to take chances, and poised to begin the next chapter of life. But when they emerge, they aren't just graduates in liberal arts, math or science. Like their predecessors, they become leaders, decision makers, and cultural shapers. That's because Hollins ignites in our students a passion to learn, explore, create, and contribute. Our mission remains compelling.

I know many people believe the time for separate education facilities for women has past, and perhaps that is so. In the past, there were lawsuits to admit women to higher institutes of learning that were state schools; UVA did not admit women until 1970. So the gains have come in my lifetime. Watching the current political landscape, it is easy for me to fear that such gains might also be quickly lost.

My experience at Hollins helped me tremendously, and I valued the same-sex education environment. When I returned for my masters, I could tell a difference in the student learning experience. Men almost always dominated the classroom, even if he was the solitary male figure (or maybe especially if he was the solitary male). We have been conditioned from birth to defer to the penis, and so that is what we do. I always preferred female teachers to male and the hours spent with the estrogen-dominated classes rooms remain some of my happier memories. I was freer there than in "the real world," where men rule, but it also prepared me to meet that world by making a stronger, more sure woman.

So I am sad for the Sweet Briar students who are suddenly homeless. Some of these young women will transfer to Hollins, and I welcome them into the sisterhood. I hope they find that Hollins meets their needs as well as the old college.

Hungry Deer

The deep snows and the lack of melting has forced the deer to do a lot of hunting for food. They spent much time under our blue spruce and at the side of the house where the snow had melted yesterday.

They Don't Really Want to be Healers

Over the last 20 years, my area's "alternative medicine" community has been growing. First came the chiropractors, then massage therapists, then an acupuncturist or two. They all were followed by more of their various professions.

I believe alternative medicine has its place in healing. I have had good results from acupuncture. I see a chiropractor regularly for a slipping rib, which she routinely puts back into place so I can breathe again. For a long time I saw a massage therapist and that, too, was helpful.

However, I recently reached a conclusion that a number of these practitioners don't really want to be healers. Or, perhaps I should say, they only want to serve a particular clientele.

I don't fall into the category of people they want to help.

I say this because if these folks really wanted to heal sick people, they wouldn't set up their offices in inaccessible places, like the second floors of buildings where people who can't climb stairs for whatever reason can't reach them.

They wouldn't set up offices in old, musty moldy buildings where people with asthma or allergies can't go.

They wouldn't bring their dogs and cats to their offices. They wouldn't burn stinky candles. They wouldn't smell like kitty litter or cigarette smoke.

They wouldn't wear perfumes.

All of these things bother someone who is environmentally sensitive. And if you're having any problems with your legs, you certainly can't get up a flight of stairs.

If you are providing a service to the public, you should not greatly inconvenience someone who is paying you $120.

Your place should be easily accessible and clean. Your clients or patients or whatever you call them should feel secure in the knowledge that you change the sheets between visitors and you don't use the same blanket without washing it.

If you own an animal and can't bear to leave it alone long enough for you to go work, then I suggest you put it in puppy preschool or kitty college, or hire a sitter. Or stay home and take care of it. If the animal is more important to you than the people who are paying you for help, then to be honest, you're not somebody I want to be seeing anyway.

If you profess to be healing and helping people, then the people you say you want to help are supposed to come first. Period. I'm paying good money and I am there because you claim you can help me. It is not about your ego, your value system, or your "special abilities." It's about my health.

I am not asking for a sterile environment, just an accessible facility and clean and breathable air. I do not think that it is unreasonable for me to expect that from someone who claims to care about my health.

I know it can be done because some of the people I've seen have managed it. These people understand and truly are healers who want to serve. However, they certainly seem to be in a minority, and very difficult to find.

Sunday Stealing: Hey 17!

From Sunday Stealing

17 Meme

1. Are you a jealous person?

A. I don't think so. Since I am human, I am sure I have my moments of envy.

2. When is the next time you’re traveling out of state?

A. I have no idea.

3. Can you write your name in a foreign language?

A. I'm pretty sure my name is the same regardless of language.

4. When you’re getting ready for something, do you listen to music?

A. I listen to music every morning when I am showering and preparing for the day.

5. What is your favorite day of the week?

A. I don't have one, but I like the sound of Thursday.

6. What is something you did yesterday and wish you could’ve done today?

A. I had a horrid day yesterday (which was Friday as I write these answers on Saturday) and there is absolutely nothing about it that I care to repeat. There are, however, some things I would do differently if I were repeating that horrid day that perhaps would make it less horrid.

7. If you woke up tomorrow and knew/spoke a different language, which language would you want it to be?

A. Latin.

8. What did you last order online?

A. A book.

9. Do you have any specific hobbies?

A. I read. I play guitar. I play video games. I write, which is my job. I take photographs. I blog.

10. What’s a song you recently discovered that you want to tell everyone about?

A. I haven't discovered any. I listen to old stuff.

11. Favorite fall or winter accessory?

A. Gloves.

12. What did you last eat?

A. A salad with a half of a club sandwich.

13. Look to your left. What’s there?

A. Bookcases full of unread books, my cameras, several clocks, and a framed picture of Ian McKellen as Gandalf the White.

14. How long does it take you to fall asleep?

A. Undrugged - a very long time. Drugged - about 20 minutes.

15. Is there a TV in the room you are in?

A. No.

16. What comes to your mind when I say red?

A. Dead.

17. Name something you think is pointless?

A. The House of Representatives in the United States Congress.

HAPPY MARCH 1! February is OVER!

Saturday 9: Stop! In the Name of Love

Saturday 9: Stop! In the Name of Love (1965)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

1) When this song was popular, the Supremes were known for their long gloves and full-length gowns. When was the last time you got dressed up?

My wedding day 31 years
ago was probably the
last time I really
dressed up.

A. I don't recall. Does black for a funeral count? Then a couple of weeks ago. Otherwise it has been a very, very long time.

2) With a record 12 #1 hits, the Supremes remain America's best-selling vocal group. This must have been hard for Betty McGlown, the fourth Supreme, who left the group before they recorded their first song. Can you think of an opportunity you missed?

A. I quit working for an attorney in 1985 and that was the worst mistake of my career. If I had stayed there, we would have been better off financially and I would have had stability for a very long time. But I was an idiot and left in search of more money, which I did not find.

3) When "the girls" (Diana Ross, Mary Wilson and Flo Ballard) first started hanging around Motown, founder Berry Gordy was reluctant to let them record. After all, they were still in high school. They refused to give up and eventually convinced him to let them add hand claps and finally back up vocals to recordings by other Motown artists. Tell us about a time when your persistence paid off.

Main Building at Hollins.

A. It took me eight years - yes, eight - to get my bachelors degree at Hollins College, now Hollins University. During those eight years I had six surgeries and had to drop out every couple of semesters because I was quite sick (at one point I was in the hospital for 30 days; three other times I had major surgery and was out of work and school and unable to drive for six weeks each). I was also holding down various full and part-time jobs during that time (as a result of stupid mistake noted in #2). Actually I went back to college as a result of stupid mistake noted in #2, which was the only good thing to come out of said stupid mistake. Anyway, in 1993 I received my diploma. I was the first person in my family to receive a degree of higher learning at that time. I went back and received my masters degree in 2012. I suppose that is persistent.

4) 50 years after its release, "Stop! In the Name of Love" is one of the most popular karaoke songs. Do you know the lyrics?

A. Stop! In the Name of Love! Before you break my heart. That's about it from me.

5) There's a children's playground named in Diana Ross' honor within New York's Central Park. It includes swings, slides, rope bridges and a fountain. When you played in the park, what did you run to first?

A. I grew up on a farm. I didn't play in parks. I rode on tractors, hunted up eggs in the chicken coop, and bottle fed calves. There were slides and swings on the school grounds but I preferred to sit in the shade and read.

6) Diana stumbled in her high heels and broke her ankle as she left the stage after a November 2012 concert. What do you have on your feet right now?

A. A pair of "Made in China" leather uppers, which I use for house shoes. They even have a pair of orthotics in them.

7) Ever the trooper, she honored her commitment to perform at a White House-sponsored Christmas concert just weeks later, even though her leg was still in a cast. Tell us about a time when you "played hurt."

A. I always have had something hurting or broken or falling apart, so pretty much the last 51 years of my life.

8) Young Diana Ross was a good student and a tough competitor who made her school's swim team. Are you a good swimmer?

A. I am overweight so I imagine I float, rather like a dead, bloated whale. I could swim okay when I was younger but it has literally been years since I attempted it.

9) Diana's older sister, Dr. Barbara Ross-Lee, was the first African American woman to be appointed dean of an American medical school. Decades ago, Barbara juggled post-graduate studies and raising small children. Are you good at multi-tasking?

A. It depends on what I'm doing. Playing a video game on my Kindle and watching TV? Check. Trying to write something important? Nope. I need to focus.  Talking on the phone and folding clothes? Sure. Playing the guitar? Nope.

Thursday Thirteen

Well, it's pouring snow here again on the east coast. I am not a big beach fan, but lately I've had visions of sitting in the sun under a palm tree somewhere, preferably with someone on hand to bring me cold, icy drinks and keep me company.

So here are some beaches somebody might like to put on their bucket list:

(The first 10 are from the National Geographic book The 10 Best of Everything. The last three are my additions. The photos are from Myrtle Beach, SC, which is where we usually vacation when we got to the beach.)

1. Seychelleswww.seychelles.com
One of the most photographed beaches in the world, the pale pink sands of Anse Source d’Argent unfurls across the island of La Digue, one of the 115 components of this archipelago in the Indian Ocean. The sands sparkle against a backdrop of towering granite boulders, worn by time and weather. The turquoise water is relatively shallow and protected from the ocean’s waves by a reef.

Myrtle Beach, SC

2. Maldiveswww.visitmaldives.com
Whether your dream beach trip consists of spending a few pampered nights in a four-star resort or swimming among tropical fish some 80 feet (24 meters) underwater, the Maldives are the sort of islands where either—or both—can come true. Straddling the Equator southwest of Sri Lanka, the 1,102 islands that make up the Maldives form 26 atolls. The soft air enveloping the archipelago blends into a beautiful palm-fringed haze.

3. Bora Bora, Tahitiwww.tahiti-tourisme.com/islands/borabora/
This is one of the magical islands that make up French Polynesia in the South Pacific. Just 18 miles (29 kilometers) long, this lush little slip of land lies in a protected lagoon edged by white sandy shores, the best being at Matira Point. Bora Bora boasts the nickname the “Romantic Island,” a moniker easy to appreciate with its isolated beaches, intimate hotels, and quiet atmosphere.

Better than snow, right?

4. The Hamptons, New Yorkwww.hamptons.com
One of the hip spots for the air-kissing, well-heeled set, the Hamptons boast some of the prettiest beaches on Long Island. The unspoiled shoreline begins around Southampton and runs east to the end of the island at Montauk. Windswept dunes and waving grasses border the Atlantic Ocean.

5. Lanikai Beach, Hawaiiwww.hawaii.com
Half a mile of sparkling sand, palm trees swaying over a white beach, lush tropical plants, and endless sunshine make Lanikai one of Hawaii’s most scenic beaches. The shore is protected by a nearby coral reef, which keeps the surf relatively calm. The water is always deep green and postcard-perfect.

Myrtle Beach, again.

6. Nantucket Island, Massachusettswww.nantucket.net
The most popular beaches on this island in the North Atlantic are Surfside and Children’s. The waters here are relatively calm, and there’s plenty of sand to use for sunbathing or castle-building. Madaket Beach is known for its rougher surf and not-to-be-missed sunsets. Quidnet Beach provides great views of Sankaty Head lighthouse.

7. Fraser Island, Australiawww.seefraserisland.com
Perched on the sunny Queensland coast 161 miles (259 kilometers) northeast of Brisbane, Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island and home to a wonderful beach. This World Heritage Site is an ecologist’s dream, with 640 square miles (1,664 square kilometers) of unspoiled natural paradise. Rain forests with 1,000-year-old trees sprout from the sand. Lodgings here accommodate a wide range of tourists, from the backpacking ecology lover to pampered resort fans.

8. St. Bart'swww.st-barths.com
One of many islands in the Caribbean Sea, St. Bart’s stands out with its blend of French chic and island relaxation. With beautiful secluded beaches, fine French cuisine, and gracious hotels, this tropical playground is popular with the Jet Set. The 8-mile-long (13-kilometer-long) island is edged by 20 beaches and small coves for swimmers and sunbathers, with sparkling water and white sand.

9. Langkawi, Malaysiawww.langkawi.com.my
The name “Langkawi” translates into “the land of one’s wishes,” a welcoming concept that somewhat belies the island’s historic origins as a reputed refuge for pirates. Langkawi has since become a modern hideaway for the traveler seeking an escape. If your vacation wishes extend from uncrowded white sands and clear waters to lush green forests, you will find yourself content here. Datai Bay, located on Pulau Langkawi, is a heavenly retreat on the Andaman Sea.

10. Kauna'oa Bay, Hawaii
Located on the Kohala Coast of the Aloha State’s Big Island, Kauna’oa Bay is the quintessential Hawaiian spot. The 0.25-mile-long (0.4-kilometer-long), crescent-shaped beach has plenty of white sand, palm trees, and calm, clear, blue water. In addition to swimming and sunbathing, beachgoers here can snorkel or ride boogie boards. (Be careful swimming, however, because there are no lifeguards on this public beach.) At night, nestle into the sands and peer out into the water to see if you can catch a glimpse of manta rays swimming.

A palm tree. Because, you know.
Beach.

11. Mellon Udrigle Beach, Scotland. Mostly because I want to go to Scotland, but I may as well see a beach while I am there, right?

12. Bettystown County Meath, Ireland. Again, mostly because I want to go to Ireland someday. Apparently this beach is known for horseracing and because a famous brooch, the Tara Brooch, was allegedly found here.

13. Woolecombe in Devon, England. Well, I want to go to England, too.

What beaches have you been to? Anywhere special you want to go? Dream away while the snow falls!



Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 384th time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

This Ain't No Disco

Farming has its ups and downs. Winter is not always a downer, but the snow creates special problems.

The cattle are bedded down in the hollow around the watering troughs at the moment. They have grass to lie on, as well as hay, but they aren't keen on tromping through the deep, icy snow.

However, this morning when I rose and looked out the window, I saw one lone cow away from the herd. On second glance, I saw her newborn calf. The little one was already up, looking for a first meal, and testing newborn legs.



Snow makes it hard on an ol' farmer.

Unfortunately, another cow and calf did not fare as well earlier in the week. The momma went into labor sometime in the night, after we'd already checked the animals, and the calf refused to come out. My husband had to get a couple of neighboring farmers to help him pull the calf, and we're hoping the hapless momma will recover. She's being treated kindly, with lots of water, hay, medication, and attention.

We are not full-time farmers; my husband has two other jobs and I don't have the physical strength to be of much assistance with farming chores. Fortunately one of our young nephews is interested and always glad to help when my fellow has to be elsewhere.

If we farmed full-time, perhaps we could better time the births of calves, though frankly this time would be about the normal time for such events, if the weather patterns were as they once were. We have not had such frigid temperatures or as much deep snow at this time of the year as rule. March is when many little new babies of all kinds pop into the world, after all.

More Snow

The weather folks initially said we might get a few inches but did hedge on their forecast; we ended up with a foot of snow. Come on, Spring!

Sunday Stealing: Colorful Meme

From Sunday Stealing

Colorful Meme

Could you tell me please, what color each of these things are?


~ Your hair: brown with streaks of gray.

Me with my graying head.

~ Your eyes: hazel with iris that look like cracked ice.

~ Your shirt: blue

~ Your socks: white with blue

~ Your shoes: white New Balance all-leather sneakers. Expensive suckers.

~ Your purse: brown

~ Your wallet: brown

~ Your phone: blue

~ Your computer/laptop: black

~ Your earphones: white

~ Your best friend’s hair: One friend has black hair, another has blondish brown, and another has black with gray in it.

~ Your best friend’s eyes: brown, blue, brown

~ Your sky today: it is pouring snow at the rate of 2 inches an hour, so gray and white.

Saturday 9: Freeway of Love

Saturday 9: Freeway of Love (1985)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.
1) In this song, Aretha's ideal car is a pink Caddy. What's your dream vehicle?

A. I don't really have one. My husband, however, wants a red Lamborghini.

2) Have you ever owned a convertible?

A. My Toyota has a moon roof. Does that count?

3) Aretha longs to "drop the pedal and go." Are you a careful, conservative driver? Or do you enjoy going fast?

A. When I was young, I drove fast. But now I am old and I drive the speed limit. I try not to make left turns. Wisdom and age, and the knowledge that life is short and precious, does that to you.

4) Aretha's grandmother Rachel helped raise her. Tell us about one of your grandparents.

A. My maternal grandmother, in a sense, helped raise me. She was my babysitter until I started school, and every summer until I was 13 and old enough to stay home and keep my brother and myself. Grandma once worked at the Oscar Myer plant in Salem, before she married, but once she had my mother (her first born), she stayed at home. Sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s, my grandfather built a house along the Roanoke River across from what was then Eaton Yale Industries; I think the house is one of the few left along the river greenway trail. My grandmother was terrified of the river and was constantly telling us not to play in it because it was polluted (which at the time it was). We mostly had that kind of childhood where Grandma would open the door and say, "get outside" and you'd go play and not return until you were hungry or needed to pee. I remember Granddaddy cookies (Little Debbie oatmeals that my grandfather hauled to his job at Kroger in his lunch pail), chocolate pudding made the old fashioned way (cooking it), and macaroni and cheese. She gave good hugs, sang a lot, and believed in family. She was not religious in the conventional sense but she had religion, if you get that. She was also a little fey at times (it's a family trait) and I never knew if she was happy with her life. However, she seldom complained. My grandfather died in 1976, when my grandmother was 53, and she was a widow for over 30 years. Since she didn't work, I guess she managed on Social Security and babysitting money. Grandma died at the age of 84 in 2007. I just last week posted a series of pictures of my grandmother, you can see them here.

Below is a Google view of the house my grandfather built.

5) Aretha played a waitress in the 1980 movie, The Blues Brothers. Have you ever worked in food service?

A. When I was about 14 I spent a few weeks working in the kitchens at Camp Mitchell, which was a church camp a few miles down the road from where we lived. At the time it was operated by the Church of the Brethren and children wen there during the summer for swimming and things like that. I suppose that counts as food service.

6) Aretha was a chain smoker for decades and had a terrible time giving up cigarettes. What habit do you wish you could break?

A. It would be nice if I could stop chewing my nails but after 50 years of doing it I don't suppose that will happen. I really don't chew on them as much as I did; I keep them clipped very short so I won't and I try to keep my fingers out of my mouth so I don't get sick. But still, they are pretty ratty looking and not my best feature.


7) A sculpture of Aretha is at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum in New York City. What's the last museum you visited?

A. The Botetourt County Historical Museum.

8) Since Aretha has many honorary degrees, it would be appropriate to refer to her as Dr. Franklin. Who is the last person you addressed by his or her title (Officer, Father, Pastor, Dr., etc.)?

A. On Thursday, I saw an orthopedic doctor and so addressed him by his "doctor" title. He put a steroid shot in my foot and it hurts so much I can barely walk. Of course, I could barely walk before the shot so not much has changed. Hopefully by the end of the weekend, I will see improvement. Last weekend, the sheriff dropped in for a visit (he lives nearby and grew up with my husband and me, we are friends), and I addressed him as Sheriff. I also sometimes call my husband "Chief" since he is a Battalion Chief in a nearby city fire department.

9) The daughter of a minister, Aretha enjoys singing "church music" and her 1972 CD Amazing Grace is one of the best sellers in gospel music history. Do you have any gospel music on your phone, iPod or MP3 player?

A. Not nary a single song. I do, however, have New Age music on there. It's very soothing.

Where Did Mayberry Go?

Last night we were watching The Andy Griffith Show at 5:30 whilst eating dinner, which is pretty much a daily habit.

For those who may not know, The Andy Griffith Show starred Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor, a sheriff in a small town in North Carolina. The town was based on Mount Airy, NC, Griffith's hometown. The town was populated with interesting, homey characters. Andy played a widower with a small son and his Aunt Bee lived with them to help raise the boy. He went through a few girlfriends before settling on one around the third season.

The show ran for eight seasons, from 1960 to 1968. The shows I am most familiar with are the early seasons in black and white (seasons 1-5), which our local TV stations has rerun at 5:30 p.m. for about 30 years. They seldom run the later episodes. I understand it is the highest rated show in that time slot in our area. Still.

The episodes have names but I don't know them. Last night's episode involved the choir. Barney, Andy's bumbling deputy, was singing in the choir and well, Barney can't sing. He thinks he can, but he can't.

Instead of pitching Barney out on his ear, the choir members first tried to convince Barney he was sick, so he wouldn't show up at a concert. Then they tried to change the work-up of the songs so that Barney would do a recitation in each piece, but he wanted no part of that because he wanted to sing.

Andy then came up with the idea of using a microphone, and having Barney whisper his singing solo, while in reality another voice was coming over the real microphone in the back. All of the choir members were in on the idea.

This was not a joke. This was an effort to keep someone that everyone genuinely liked from having hurt feelings. As we were watching, I turned to my husband.

"I would like to think people thought enough of me to try to keep me from being embarrassed and hurting my feelings like that," I said.

We both agreed that would be a fine thing. However, given the current state of hatred and lack of empathy that seems to be the normal attitude of most folks these days, neither of us felt that such a thing would even be possible. Somebody's always ready to point out when you hit the wrong note, even if a majority keep quiet.

Part of my dismay at this state of the world comes from watching people gang up on one another on the Internet, seeing anyone who slips up in the least come under such intense scrutiny that I am amazed that we don't have half of a nation out slashing its wrists in despair at any given time. We have become a bitter, brutal, backstabbing society, full of hate and spitefulness. Like gathers with like and we attack, striking like hungry alligators who fear there will never be another meal.

I know that love is still out there, that people still care for one another. I have good friends that I would swim through a flood to help, if I had to. But I think those days of perpetual niceness, that time when manners mattered and people didn't feel so free to speak opinions that would be better left unsaid, are over and long gone, if they ever existed at all.

One thing about old TV and its fictional worlds. They can surely make you wonder what has happened in the intervening years.

Thursday Thirteen

I received the above desk calendar for Christmas. I'm sorry to say that I placed it in my office, it slipped beneath some papers, and I just now found it.

But I thought to myself, Shirley there must be some good quotes or book titles or something in that thing. (That's a joke, my name's not Shirley. Old school.)

So anyway, here's a list of books up through today. I haven't read them unless otherwise noted. The date is the date they are listed on this calendar, not a publication date or anything.

1. VB6: Eat Vegan before 6:00 to Lose Weight and Restore Your Health . . . for Good, by Mark Bittman (January 2)

2. "I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." - Douglas Adams (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy). (January 3 & 4).

3. Blood from Stone, by Frances Fyfield (January 6).

4. The Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley, by Peter Garalnick (January 8 - Elvis Presley's birthday).

5. "What does the J. K. stand for in "J. K. Rowling?"  (January 10 & 11).

6. Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson (January 14) (First published in 1980, this feminist novel caused quite a stir back then.)

7. Lucky Man: A Memoir, by Michael J. Fox (January 16)

8. "Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." - Charles Dickens, David Copperfield (January 17 & 18)

9. Henry and Ribsy, by Beverly Cleary (January 23)

10. "Prose is architecture, not interior decoration." Ernest Hemingway (January 24 & 25).

11. "What classic work of literature set in France contains this line: "Our desires cut across one another, and in this confused existence it is rare for happiness to coincide with the desire that clamored for it."? (January 31 & Feb. 1)

12. Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, by Adam Grant (February 5)

13. "But I reckon I got to light out for the Territory ahead of the rest, because Aunt Sally she's going to adopt me and sivilize me and I can't stand it. I been there before." Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (February 7 & 8)



Thursday Thirteen is played by lots of people; there is a list here. I've been playing for a while and this is my 383rd time to do a list of 13 on a Thursday.

Turkeys in the Snow

Tracks in the Snow

The Frozen Tundra

Finding Ideas

Someone asked me the other day where I get my ideas from. "You write about so many different things in the newspaper," the person said. "How do you think of all of that?"

Some writers shrug off this question. They claim not to know where their ideas come from. Perhaps they don't. Others want to keep that mystique of being a writer alive, I think. They want it to seem like special magic that only creative souls find.

Here are some quotes from more famous writers about where they get their ideas:

"People always want to know: Where do I get my ideas? They're everywhere. I'm inspired by people and things around me."  - Gwendolyn Brooks, American poet and novelist

"My standard answer is "I don't know where they come from, but I know where they come to, they come to my desk." If I'm not there, they go away again, so you've got to sit and think." - Philip Pullman, English writer

"Anything can set things going--an encounter, a recollection. I think writers are great rememberers." - Gore Vidal, American novelist, playwright, essayist
 
"I don't believe that a writer "gets" (takes into the head) an "idea" (some sort of mental object) "from" somewhere, and then turns it into words, and writes them on paper. At least in my experience, it doesn't work that way. The stuff has to be transformed into oneself, it has to be composted, before it can grow into a story." - Ursula Le Guin, American novelist and essayist

These are all perfectly good answers. They would not necessarily be my answer.

There are times ideas come to me as if they are flowing across the sky and fall into my head. I envision an entire whirlwind of ideas dancing about, and sometimes I can tap into them and something great falls out and I catch it.

However, that happens infrequently. Mostly my ideas come from the world around me. I get ideas because I work at getting them. 

I listen to what people say in the grocery store. I observe the world around me. I take in what I read and think about how I might change a national story into a local one. That was one of my favorite methods when I was writing 30 articles a month. For instance, right now the measles is in the national news. How might I turn that into a local story? Perhaps I'd go talk to a pediatrician. Or I could write an essay about my own bout with the measles, which I vaguely remember as being a very itchy and quite uncomfortable time. I could elaborate on it, ask my brother if he remembers getting them, too (he was three years younger so he may not), and perhaps talk to others my own age and ask them if they had the measles. Describing how painful the condition was for local people might be an interesting way to go about it.

Other ideas come from my journals. My own life is a great story - so is yours. Everyone has a great story. I do not believe there is such a thing as a boring life. Even someone who is agoraphobic and never leaves home has a story to tell. Imagine what that must be like, to be afraid to leave your home. How does that happen?

The most important way for me to catch and find ideas is to write them down. If I overhear an interesting conversation in the grocery store, if I don't come home and make a note of it, I forget it. That idea is then lost, unless something reminds me.

At one time I had a very long list of possible articles to write for the local newspaper. That was my main writing market and so they were very pointed and directed specifically toward my community. I threw the list away some time ago after I looked it over and decided most of the ideas were stale or had already been done, either by me or someone else. I still keep a list, but it's shorter these days because I don't get out as much.

The calendar offer up all kinds of ideas. There is a National Something or Another going on almost every day of the year. I could write about National Ice Cream Day or National Foot in Mouth Day or whatever. Or I could make up a day and write about why we should have it.

History is also a good place to look to for ideas. Your personal history, your parents' history, or your community's history all offer an endless array of things about which to write. All you have to do is open your mind.

Looking out my window, right this very moment, I see a fine snow falling. I see black angus cows huddling around the watering trough. I see a squirrel trying to outrace the bad weather. In those three sentences, there are an endless things about which one can write.

The trick is to find a way to write about such things so that they matter. If you work at it, you can make any topic interesting. Goodness knows I've spent enough time trying to make government meetings worth reading to know how difficult it can be to take a snoozer of a topic and turn it into something worthwhile.

If you have a passion, then that is something worth writing about. Maybe you like to garden, or you have pets. You can keep a journal about your passion, whatever it is, and eventually you will come up with many things to write about concerning your passion. Perhaps you can even get a book out of it.

Your job is also good for stories. Anyone who works with the public has plenty of stories, because humanity is full of characters and fools who are the subjects of fun stories. Or maybe they are tragic stories, which are also important. Teachers, rescue workers, retail clerks, pizza delivery people, UPS drivers, postal workers - all have interesting stories about the people have they have met and the things they have done.

For example, a few days before Christmas back in 1991 or so, it snowed deeply. We were home thinking we were snowed in. It was late, around 8 p.m. and there was a knock on the door. A brown uniformed UPS man stood there with a package. We could see no truck. He'd not been able to get up our driveway and had walked. Now that is a story, and that fellow was dedicated to his job. I don't know that that would happen in this day and age.

So there's a story there - has the work ethic changed? Wouldn't that make a good article, to compare the work ethic of someone who is 55 to the work ethic of someone who is 25. What, I wonder, would we find?

Ideas are everywhere. The secret is to be open to them. If you are closed-minded, and can only see things your way and are unable to actually hear what people are saying, you may be bereft of ideas. Ideas do not like to beat against walls; instead they like to seep through, grow warm, maybe simmer a while, and then boil over until you actually have to act on them. You've got a great idea in your head when that kind of thing happens.

So if you're looking for ideas, for whatever reason, here is my advice:

• Open your mind.
• Listen.
• Write things down.
• Revisit what you've heard or written and think about how you can use the information.

That's it. That's the formula for finding ideas. It's pretty easy, really, though I think that first step is where many people stumble. Apparently it is difficult to keep an open mind.

Good luck finding your ideas today!