mary_j_59

This is another result from a prompt in writing club. My sister liked it, and thought I should share it with family and friends, so I'm doing so.

Claddaghduff
(For my grandfather)

By the ocean
The horse races,
His shoes striking
Wet sand.
Shells gleam
In the sunset.
The strand shines.
An old man,
Astride,
Reclaims his youth.

I just heard from my sister that Mom is supposed to come home tomorrow! She still has a long recovery ahead of her, but that's terrific news, all the same. :)

My twin, too, actually. She and her colleague in the elementary school won one of our local school - public library cooperation awards for (among other things) their live video chat with Mo Willems. And our brother's firm has been invited back to Samoa for restoration work. Here's a link with a pic:


http://www.samoanews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=16534&edition=1277892000


Happy Independence Day to all my friends who celebrate, and peace!

Please link to this post, pass it on, tell people about it - this is a very long shot, but I think the more people it reaches, the better chance we have of succeeding. Here's the story, very briefly:
My Dad was talking about his experience in the Navy in Hutchinson, Kansas, during WWII. He was in the medical corps, and had a good friend called Johnny Hansen (not sure of the spelling of the last name). Dad played organ for Johnny's wedding - this would probably have been in 1945. My Dad is Gerard Johnson, and his friends call him Gerry. If anyone knows a Johnny Hansen or Hanson who was in the Navy and stationed in Hutchinson during WWII, please have them contact me! I know this is a long shot, but Dad would love to know what happened to Johnny and his family.

My younger sister won the contest to find the most interesting revision Dickens made to A Christmas Carol. Here's the short article from (as I remember) December 25:





The New York Times 159.54900 (Dec 25, 2009): pA27(L). (563 words)


ON THE BLOG

Greatness in Progress: Challenged by The New York Times to unlock the mysteries of Charles Dickens's changes to ''A Christmas Carol,'' more than 100 readers pored over the newly digitized 66-page work.

The winner of the contest, Hilary Johnson, 39, noted that Dickens altered the length of time that Scrooge's business partner, Marley, had been dead, from 10 years to 7, on Page 5. She speculated that the number 7 might have magical properties, an interpretation that resonated with the judge, Declan Kiely, the curator at the Morgan Library and Museum. ''It's more incantatory,'' he said.

She also noticed that Dickens revised the line that Marley's ghost utters on Page 14 from ''Man was my business'' to ''Business! Mankind was my business.''

CAPTION(S):

PHOTOS: The Norway spruce in Nanuet, N.Y., left, before relocating to Bryant Park. (PHOTOGRAPHS BY TOM ZODA); Hilary Johnson had a sharp eye for Dickens's revisions. (PHOTOGRAPH BY RUTH FREMSON/THE NEW YORK TIMES)
Source Citation
Sulzberger, A.G. "City room blogging at NYTimes.com/cityroom." New York Times 25 Dec. 2009: A27(L). Custom Newspapers. Web. 23 Feb. 2010.
Document URL
http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/infomark.do?&contentSet=IAC-Documents&type=retrieve&tabID=T004&prodId=SPN.SP00&docId=A215192630&source=gale&srcprod=SP00&userGroupName=nysl_me_wls&version=1.0

Gale Document Number:A215192630

Could everyone please keep my parents, and especially my Mom, in their thoughts and prayers Monday? Mom is going to have heart surgery.

Or there will be! I haven't seen them yet, and have no pics, but my younger sister told me there are now two baby bluebirds in the nestbox. We are filming them for Dad, and I may be able to get the video onto DVD and then onto the computer. We'll see! In any case, I'm excited that the babies have made it this far in all the chilly weather we've been having. I was afraid it was too cold for the eggs to hatch.

My sister has a blog, and it's really good! Go and look, especially if you like animals. Here's the link:
http://deirdrea.wordpress.com/