When I received an email from Suzanne Davenport in early summer 2013 that described her ambitious project to compile a book based on how Newtowners felt after 12/14, I admired her courage. Suzanne and I met as volunteers in the Newtown Volunteer Task Force Call Center where we received and returned phone calls and emails … Continue reading
Having moved from California back to my hometown of Newtown, CT, a few months ago, I find myself writing a few more updates to friends than usual in the form of personal emails or Facebook posts. My California friends want to know what I’m doing and it’s hard to connect regularly by phone when there … Continue reading
20+ years ago, I was required to read “The Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess for a college English class. English was my favorite subject and I loved to read, but I wasn’t thrilled about the assignment for a very specific reason. I had read the book before. With so much to read in the world, … Continue reading
I listened intently as the experts shared their knowledge on television about guns and mental illness in the aftermath of the December 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary. But, when an expert on mass shootings declared that an individual was less likely to become a victim of a mass shooting than a victim of a … Continue reading
I had some stories read recently at the “Memory to Monologues” performance as part of the Newtown Arts Festival (www.newtownartsfestival.com). The Newtown Cultural Arts Commission (www.newtownartscommission.org) produced the event, which was the first in the history of my small hometown, Newtown, CT. The festival featured live performances, exhibitors, workshops, demonstrations, lectures, presentations, and food vendors, … Continue reading
I love women’s soccer, but I usually don’t like to watch it. It just stings too much that my generation didn’t have the chance to play for a national team. Today was the exception. I finally watched…and the U.S. women won gold! I’ve been working on my book this evening and happened to read over … Continue reading
I missed my hometown library’s book sale in Newtown, Connecticut this year. 120K books for sale, and I missed it – darn! A few weeks later I happened to visit the Martin Luther King Library in San Jose, California. The downtown library of the 10th largest U.S. city is about a zillion times bigger than … Continue reading
I drove out of my street in Connecticut yesterday (Sunday). I don’t think that I saw anyone working in their yards. My childhood was much different. Everyone spent the weekends mowing the yards, tending to flowers, gardening vegetables, working on their house, or taking care of farm animals. It’s different now, the landscapers pull up … Continue reading
I went to the Newtown Town Clerk’s office today. A few of my early reviewers have suggested that I document how the land around us in Newtown was converted from farmland to housing in the 1970s. I was able to get the maps from 1961 that showed the original homestead at the time my father … Continue reading
This is my very first post. My blog will focus on memoirs. I wrote a few of my childhood stories for my 80-something parents as a 2011 Christmas gift. I wanted to write the funny little stories that had been told and retold around the dinner table so many times. I started out with the … Continue reading
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