More Abe Lincoln

When I was writing about Lincoln last night, I had a memory of a poem that I had read when I was in grade school. I have it copied down somewhere and had the idea that it was written by a student, because it was published in one of those Weekly Reader type magazines that we used to get each week.

Since I didn't want to look for it, but I wanted to read it again, I decided to . . . that's right . . . Google it! I remembered the first line and was surprised that when I typed in "If Nancy Hanks" and the poem popped up.

It was written by Rosemary Benet and is called, Nancy Hanks. Even though it is simple, I remembered it all of these years and had fun reading it again. I hope you enjoy it, too.

If Nancy Hanks
Came back as a ghost,
Seeking news
Of what she loved most,
She'd ask first
"Where's my son?
What's happened to Abe?
What's he done?"

"Poor little Abe,
Left all alone
Except for Tom,
Who's a rolling stone;
He was only nine
The year I died.
I remember still
How hard he cried."

"Scraping along
In a little shack,
With hardly a shirt
To cover his back,
And a prairie wind
To blow him down,
Or pinching times
If he went to town."

"You wouldn't know
About my son?
Did he grow tall?
Did he have fun?
Did he learn to read?
Did he get to town?
Do you know his name?
Did he get on?"

Spiritual reading, wrote 500 words, 15 minutes in the sunshine (and it was really hot today), reporting - check.

The Poet Abe Lincoln

I caught a little part of a PBS special about President Lincoln tonight. I haven't really studied his life, just what I learned in school, but in those few minutes, I learned something about Mr. Lincoln that I didn't know.

He wrote poetry.

The show told about how in 1844, he revisited his childhood home, where he had lost his mother to death, years before. Afterward, he penned a poem about it. I'm including the lines they repeated in the show, if you'd like to read all of it, plus others, go to Abe Lincoln poetry.


Near twenty years have passed away
Since here I bid farewell
To woods and fields, and scenes of play,
And playmates loved so well.


Where many were, but few remain
Of old familiar things;
But seeing them, to mind again
The lost and absent brings.


The friends I left that parting day,
How changed, as time has sped!
Young childhood grown, strong manhood gray,
And half of all are dead.


I hear the loved survivors tell
How nought from death could save,
Till every sound appears a knell,
And every spot a grave.


I range the fields with pensive tread,
And pace the hollow rooms,
And feel (companion of the dead)
I'm living in the tombs.


The show continued by saying that Lincoln didn't consider himself much of a poet - I would have to disagree. I believe Abe still mourned deeply for his mother, even after all of those years and that pain comes through in his poetry.


Mr. Lincoln found, that for the rest of his life, words would be important to him. Like so many others, maybe writing helped him through his bouts of depression. He's known for many things, so maybe his writing gets overlooked, but how many of us could not repeat at least a few of his famous words? (Fourscore and seven years ago . . .) What a legacy.


I'm inspired to do better when I read of people who struggled and overcame. In spite of how I may feel about his political life and decisions, as a fellow writer, I have great respect.

Thank you, Mr. President, you are one of us. (and if you are one of us - you know exactly what I'm talking about).



Goals accomplished: 500 words plus written, 15 minutes in the sunshine, read 15 minutes from Things As They Really Are by Neal Maxwell, reported. Check.

Light In The Wilderness

Have you ever read the first paragraph of a book and known that it was going to change your life?

I've had that experience several times and stand in awe of writers who can accomplish that with their words.

Three weeks ago, I was struggling - just feeling down - unmotivated - unfocused. As I do, so often when I feel like this, I opened the email I get each day from Meridian Magazine. It happened to be a Friday and one of the titles grabbed my attention - Light in the Wilderness: Explorations in the Spiritual Life by M. Catherine Thomas.


The first thing I read was a note from the editor - Maurine Proctor - introducing the serialization of this new book. Here's part of what she said, "When I read this book (and then reread it for the pure joy of it), I wanted to share it with everyone I knew, for its delicious and illuminating ideas were like a gift, stirring my ancient spirit"

When I read a review like that, I start to think that there must be something to this book. Then I read the first paragraph of the introduction which is a quote from Hugh Nibley:

"Have faith that there is more than you know; repent of all your present shallowness and silliness; wash off everything of this world in the waters of baptism, and be reborn . . . to a course of action requiring perpetual, progressive repentance . . . until you are full of grace and truth, which is nowhere in the foreseeable future . . . Then 'ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost' and get the guidance you need (Acts 2:37-38)."


I immediately felt gripped by these words and knew that I had to read them - and I have - about 8 or 10 times, because it is very vitamin rich stuff. It's like reading classic literature - it makes me think. I find myself stopping and studying one section, looking up the scriptures, and meditating on the deeper meaning. For someone like me who struggles with concentration, this is a big deal.

As I read on, I knew that I wanted to have this book and got online to order it. Before I could buy it, the thought came to me that I didn't need to buy the book - at least not at this point. What I needed to do was to savor each piece (published each Friday) a week at a time, so that I could really get the most out of it. So I'm studying the chapters each week and praying for help to absorb what I'm supposed to learn. It has been a great experience for me so far and when I click on Meridian and see a new installment, it's like getting a letter from someone I love.

If you're looking for a chance to stretch your spiritual muscles, or for a spiritual lift, or just to read some uplifting stories, check out this serialization. There have been 3 so far and each piece is a feast for the brain and the spirit. I hope it touches you like it has me.

"If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead, either write things worth reading or do things worth writing."

                                                                                   Benjamin Franklin

Is it too late to do both?

Yes, Google is a verb

"Oh, my gosh!"
That's what my fifteen year old son said to me when he saw my Google search.
"What?"
He laughed and shook his head.
We had been searching for plane tickets for him to visit his brother at Ft. Benning, Georgia. They were expensive, so I typed into Google, "Where the heck are the cheap plane tickets from Cody to Atlanta?"
He was right, it sent us to some scam looking site that probably attacked my computer with spyware. (nice try, but I'm protected!)

Seriously, though. I think asking what you want to know is a pretty good way to find out what you want to know. And Google seems to know a lot.

Sometimes my son and I entertain ourselves with the auto suggestion part of the search.
We just start the search with a question - Is, What, Why, Am I etc. Such as:

Is Mitt Romney . . .mormon, running for president, pro life, a Christian? Those are the answers - not really unexpected.

Why . . . was the berlin wall built, wyoming, is the sky blue

That surprised me - why wyoming is a top search - it's also the title of at least 2 different songs. Here's part of the lyrics from one by Eddie Holly:

When you say Why Wyoming

                                          Send you picture postcards

Just wouldn’t be the same

If you could be here with me in my wide open

You’d never ask me why again

Why Wyoming.

I've lived here all my life and it never occurred to me to ask, why Wyoming?

What is the . . .smallest country in the world, code of the west, difference between astronomy and astrology, proclamation of 1763, formula for calculating potential energy.

I started thinking that this could give me some good ideas for writing. I have a character who was raised on a ranch and has a dad who didn't talk much, but had a lot of wise sayings. When I looked at the code of the west, here's what I found:

If it's not yours, don't take it.

If it's not true, don't say it.

If it's not right, don't do it.

 ~Cowboy's word is his sacred bond~

~Bargains sealed with handshake are more binding than legal documents~

~be loyal~

~Demand square dealings~

~Be proud of your occupation~

~Lay down your life, if necessary, for the privilege of defending your outfit~

~Grant quick assistance to friends and strangers in need~

~Never tolerate cowards~

~Be cheerful~

~Endure hardships without complaining~

~Don't make excuses~

~Try to be better than the other fella~

~Never quit~

~Share anything you own with a fellow worker~

~Be generous with your life and money~

~Treat women like ladies~

~Never shoot an un-armed or un-warned man~

~Stealing and rustling are evil wrong doing~

There's a load of wisdom there - I especially like the last 2.
Then I found out that  Hop-a-long Cassidy had a code and Gene Autry and the Lone Ranger.
Here's a link if you're interested in more cowboy codes of honor. Roy Rogers and John Wayne probably had codes, too.

I've found some really good material for my character and learned some things about the area I write about. Just from asking - "what is the . . ."  and "why . . ."

Hmm, I wonder, if Roy Rogers, Hop-a-long, Gene Autry, the Lone Ranger and the Duke were forced to fight  each other - who would win, based on their individual codes of honor?

I just have to Google that . . .

Wordle of my book titles

Something Worth Saying

Tonight I'm pasting in a quote from an article published today in Meridian Magazine. 
The author is Larry Barkdull and the article is Some Observations on Art and Writing.


He talks about our innate talent - that spark of genius that each of us has and the responsibility we have to develop our talent. He discusses the responsibility we have to say something worth saying and taking responsibility for our gift. 


It made me think of what I write. Is it worthwhile? Does it serve a purpose? Can I say something worth saying, in a way that's different from the way everyone else would say it? It's a challenge. But a fun challenge.


Here's the quote:


"You and your talent are needed. Your gift is rare. Be humble enough to acknowledge the Source. Take the responsibility to develop your gift through hard work. Take the further responsibility to say something worthwhile. After all is said and done, be accountable. Pay the price to find out why you were given such an ability and learn what you are expected to do with it. You are in for a great ride!"


I think I'm paying the price right now - trying to find out why I was given my talent. I just wish a note would fall from heaven telling me what I'm expected to do with it . . .

Music 2

Yesterday I wrote about my Batdorf & McLean CD and I've been thinking about that post since then. I was wondering why something like this speaks to my soul, when so much other music doesn't.

I love music. In church, during musical numbers, I close my eyes so I can concentrate completely on the music. When I attend the Nutcracker, I go for the music, more than the performance. The same with the Phantom of the Opera - it was the music I loved.

So, why don't I listen to popular music? I haven't missed American Idol since the 2nd season started - so it's not that I don't like this music - it's just that I don't buy it and listen to it. Here's why: The songs get stuck in my head. Seriously stuck.

Last week, I saw a Justin Bieber look alike on American's Got Talent. A line from the song she sang has been going around and around in my head since. It's so bad, that if I wake up in the night, those words are there and when I get up, etc. Anytime I'm not consciously thinking of something else, that tape is playing in my head.

What's wrong with that? A couple of weeks ago, I listened to one of my favorites, Natasha Bedingfield, while I exercised. For the next week I found myself singing "I'm single and I like it that way" over and over. Well, I'm neither single, nor do I want to go through any of the things that would make me that way, so even though I like the song, I didn't like the verse that stayed with me.

However, with Batdorf & McLean, I figure I'm generally safe. If I repeat "I will not be afraid" or "All that's wrong in your life, let it go" or "from the broken pieces of my life, you could see all I could be if I was whole . . ." I don't feel like I'm programming something negative into my brain by repetition.

Mostly, I think there's something different about music that invites the Spirit. It doesn't invade my mind. I can easily recall it when I want to and it makes me feel good every time, but it doesn't plant itself in there and refuse to go away.

I don't know - maybe I'm the only one that has this problem. All I know is that I'm more careful these days with the music I repeatedly listen to. It makes me kind of wish that Pyotr Tchaikovsky was still here writing music.

I'm just glad for the modern composers who write the songs that lift my soul.
I thank you all.

Music

Last week when I took my husband to Billings for a doctor's appointment, we stopped in at the bookstore so he could look into freeze dried food (eeww). As I was looking around, casually trying to avoid tasting powdered pineapple, I stopped at the CD display. There on the front of one of the rows was my very, very favorite music recording ever.

I've had the cassette tape for a long time. One year, I drove my dad's truck to the family reunion in Idaho and lost my tape somewhere over the weekend. I went right out and bought another one - only to find the original in Dad's truck later. So, I have two cassette tapes of the same thing. I even remember looking for the CD one time and figured that this was a once and done deal.

This recording was the inspiration behind my Promise Ranch series of books. As I sat one day, listening to the sweet love songs, suddenly pieces of stories, characters, and situations started jumping together and I started writing them down. By the time the tape was over, I had titles, brief descriptions and main characters for six of the books in the series. See why I like this music so much?

Of course, years later, I actually got to see one of these performers at Time Out For Women and loved ever second of it.

So what is my new CD that has already been ripped and synced to my MP3 player where I've probably listened to it twelve times already? (lawn mowing just flew by today).

Batdorf & McLean - Don't You Know

Don't know why, but it just speaks to me. Unfortunately, when I went to look up the links for these two performers, I saw new music by each of them and songs I didn't know they had done together. So much for getting anymore writing done tonight . . .


Got just over my 2000 words for WOW today.