One of my sons plays Pokemon. It has become a new world of interest and verbal exchange. The other day he was showing me all of the characters in his book of cards.

"See Mom, I have this one, and this one, and this one, and this one, and--"
"Wait, what's this one?"
"Hmmm, I don't know. But look, I have this one and this one and..."

He trailed off, but I held the page open long enough to read the name of the card: Mom's Kindness. What an honor, to have a card named after something so special. Every warrior can take refuge in the warmth of their mother's arms. The card is termed a 'Supporter'.

I got a nice dose of 'Mom's Kindness' today, as well as 'Aunt's Kindness'. After a flurry of family and in-law visits, the kids have all spent the last 24 hours with a stomach virus, throwing up. The piles of laundry today have been comical. At five am, after two hours of helping the kids, we were fresh out of clean warm blankets. Even the sleeping bags lay in the queue next to the laundry.

I am so thankful to have my loving family nearby, with so many ready to help out. I was raised within this helpful, loving environment. Along with making each other laugh, helping is one of the things we do best.

My youngest sister just had her first baby. I look forward to being there for her, in all of the ways in which she was there for me. It is a currency of love and care.

"Some years ago at Abercrombie and Fitch I bought a cattle caller, an
automobile horn manipulated by a lever with which nearly all cow emotions can be imitated, from the sweet lowing of a romantic heifer to the growling roar of a bull in the prime and lust of his bullhood. I had this contraption on Rocinante, and it was most effective. When its call goes out, every bovine within hearing distance raises its head from grazing and moves toward the sound."

---from 'Travels With Charley' by John Steinbeck

"I'm not taking a poll, but how does the election seem to be going around here?"
"I wish I knew," he said. "People aren't talking. I think this might be the secretest election we ever had. People just won't put out an opinion."
"Could it be they haven't got one?"
"Maybe, or maybe they just don't want to tell. I remember other elections when there would be pretty peppery arguments. I haven't heard even one."
And that's what I found all over the country---no arguments, no discussion.


---from 'Travels With Charley' by John Steinbeck

"Calpurnia appeared in the front door and yelled, "Lemonade time! You all get in outa that hot sun 'fore you fry alive!" Lemonade in the middle of the morning was a summertime ritual. Calpurnia set a pitcher and three glasses on the porch, then went about her business. Being out of Jem's good graces did not worry me especially. Lemonade would restore his good humor."

---To Kill A Mockingbird


It sounds like Cal really had a nice routine going. My Grandmother raised her six children with the help of a German girl. Every morning she would come over and work with my Grandmother on the laundry, cleaning and child care. I remember asking her how she managed the expense of domestic help, living off of my Grandfather's military pay. Her response was this: "Every southern woman has money in her budget for good help."

Summer Reading

..."Thereafter the summer passed in routine contentment. Routine contentment was: improving our treehouse that rested between giant twin chinaberry trees in the back yard, fussing, running through our list of dramas...Thus we came to know Dill as a pocket Merlin, whose head teemed with eccentric plans, strange longings, and quaint fancies.

But by the end of August our repetoire was vapid from countless reproductions, and it was then that Dill gave us the idea of making Boo Radley come out."

---from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee


Every summer, in the heat of July or August, I read this book. I wait until the weather mimics the never ending Alabama heat that is present throughout most of the story. When there was no AC to cut the humidity, and when the screened in porches were used for sleeping. There is something so magical about transforming one's state of mind through surrending to a story.

During the pregnancy of my third child, I announced that if the baby was a girl, she would be named Jean Louise, though refered to as 'Scout'. Oh, the protests that my other kids gave:

"Mom, that's a dog's name! And besides, when are we getting a dog?"

"You can't name the baby Scout! That's too confusing--the Jean Louise thing."

Needless to say, we had a boy. I could have pressed for Atticus, though it sounds better suited for a middle name. Jem, as well as Dill, were never considered.

Every year I notice a new layer of the book. There are 31 chapters, though they are really more like vignettes or observations lasting from three to five pages long. Seen in that way, it makes writing a book appear more managable. What elements make this book a classic? What are the classic books being written today?

Creative Work by Julie Goldstein