More on Sit-A-Spell

Very quickly the weather has turned from a balmy 80-plus degrees in the morning to a cool fifty-something. Drinking coffee outside now requires wearing a sweatshirt or jacket. How quickly things change! I've also done a little research on the origins American Southern expression meaning to sit with someone and visit. Since I first heard the expression in the US North, I dub this more as an American colloquialism, rather than a "Southernism." In any event, I do enjoy those minutes outside while Fawn goes

parktime and I drink my cofee and sit-- gathering my thougts and enjoying the sunflowers :). Some of the trees are already losing their leaves, and the Old Farmer's Almanac has forecasted a wet and stormy winter season for Winter 2012-- so we will wait to see what's in store for us.

The Grace of Silence

Book Review
One of the joys of attending ASA is the new books I find among the book vendors at the conference. This year I found, and read on a cross country plane ride, The Grace of Silence, by NPR's Michele Norris.

Both history and research have shown that as time passes, significant events fade from memory unless something intervenes to keep the events in the forefront. Michele Norris’ family memoir uncovers family knowledge of experiences most family members know about but kept hidden, or silent, throughout the years. It was only after talking to her relatives that Norris discovers her grandmother once worked as an Aunt Jemimah doing pancake cooking demonstrations, and that her father had been shot by a white policeman shortly after he returned from serving in the Navy.
The strength of Norris’ storytelling is in the explanations, and explorations, of the context of the times. The Civil Rights movement changed American society for the better, and Norris’ descriptions of the times is a reminder of the struggles for equal rights. This book should be read by everyone under 25— hopefully, these lessons from the past will be remembered as the future generation forges society to its making.
For a more detailed complete book review, please see:
http://www.statesman.com/life/borooks/review-of-the-grace-of-silence-a-memoir-951794.html

Remembering 9/11

Sit-A-Spell

The warmth of summer days naturally brings us outside much more than the rest of the year. One of the joys for me is to sit outside and drink my coffee, sit outside with the dog close by, or just sit outside to ponder my thoughts.
That last phrase alone made me think about what it means to ponder one’s thoughts… does that mean:
• To think about thinking?
• To stare into space and think nothing?
• To gather one’s thoughts so as to plan a day, think through a problem, or think about something?
I guess it means all of these things. But then again, does one have to sit and think? Can I just sit and be? I wonder what others have to say about this.

While the weather allows and the mosquitos don’t bite I will continue to “sit a spell” and eventually work on an explaining of what that means and how I came by that phrase .