Dear Mr. Conroy

When I was fifteen years old, my father put the book The Prince of Tides in my hands and told me to read. An unusual choice, some might think, for a 15 year old female from the suburbs in Michigan, who listened to Nirvana and frequented Denny's. This was my life though, growing up. My parents started my reading education early, as young as ten when my mother gave me James Herriot's All Creatures Great and Small, and never moderated or censored my reading choices; in fact they encouraged me to read whatever I could get my hands on, and suggested many of their favorites, like J.D. Salinger, John Irving, James Herriot, and Kurt Vonnegut. I read voraciously and tenaciously, hanging on every syllable of every sentence.

The Prince of Tides was a changing point in my life however; while I always read constantly, and by constantly I mean actually not putting the book down, and read while brushing my teeth, making breakfast, walking from room to room, I really couldn't put this book down. I even convinced my mom the day after I started the book that I was sick, and had to stay home from school. I finished The Prince of Tides that very day, and thus began my lifelong love of the south and southern writers. The lives of the characters in this book could not have been further from my own, yet something in the writing, in the story spoke to me. The setting, the characters, were a million miles away from my own personal landscapes, and I wanted to be part of that world. I wanted the concrete and tall buildings around me to transform into tidal lowlands; I had a crush on Luke, wanted to be Tom's friend, wanted to save Savannah. And later Luke. I can still recite from memory the poem Savannah wrote about Luke, still remember the white porpoise, Caesar, Callonwolde. This book is so full of pain and beauty and love rolled into one. I cried throughout most of it.

After that day, I read all of Pat Conroy's published works, and made sure to read every new one that came out after. Now, 20 years later, I am midway through Conroy's book My Reading Life, and am just as enthralled as I always am. It has reminded me just how in love with reading, with words, with books, with the south, with southern writers, Conroy in particular, I really am. He taught me that there is magic in a sentence, and that you can never use too many adjectives. He has shaped my northern world into one that dreams of the south, flawed or unflawed.

"Books are living things and their task lies in their vows of silence. You touch them as they quiver with a divine pleasure. You read them and they fall asleep to happy dreams for the next ten years. If you do them the favor of understanding them, of taking in their portions of grief and wisdom, then they settle down in contented residence in your heart." Pat Conroy - My Reading Life

Going South

Hi all! I am back in the bitterly cold mitten state after spending a few days in the comfortably mild weather of St. Augustine, Florida. I never realized what a fantastic city St. Augustine is. You never really hear much about it, so I didn't know quite what to expect. But I fell in love with this town!

For one thing, it seemed like everyone had a dog; everywhere I looked, I saw people of all ages walking dogs of all sizes. The restaurants and bars all seemed to have vegetarian options, and not just the standard veggie burger and fries, or some sort of pasta dish- nope, these dining establishments offered a multitude of vegetarian dishes, from the avocado-provolone cheese sandwich I had for lunch at a bar (they also had three tofu meals on the menu!), to the Mozzacado Sandwich at Cafe Eleven I wished I could have tried (I ran out of days!) We also ate at the amazing restaurant, The Columbia, and they had three different vegetarian dishes. So, just these two things alone are enough to make me want to pick up house and move on down. But besides this, the people are so laid back, mellow, and friendly- it seemed like just the type of community I want to be part of.

The above picture was taken at the Mi Casa Cafe on St. George Street, where dad and I had lunch. I enjoyed a glass of Pinot Grigio while singing along to the folk tunes sung by Mike Sweet, who had great shoes! I love his peace sign Converse!!

The real purpose this trip, or adventure weekend as dad and I referred to it, was to attend a writing workshop led by our favorite author Connie May Fowler! The workshop focused on writing a novel- how to begin, different trouble spots to watch out for, and what to do when you finish your novel. Dad and I spent Saturday in the Treehouse on the beach, in a living room with 18 other people, and Connie May! We were excited to just be in the same room as Connie May, much less to be learning from her.

The day was informative, inspiring, motivating, everything I hoped it would be! Connie May Fowler is the sweetest woman, just as you would imagine from reading her novels. And if you haven't read them, I insist that you do. My personal favorite is Remembering Blue. (If you do read her, I would love to hear what you think!)

Our fellow writers all lived in Florida, most of them from the very area the workshop was being held. Dad and I definitely came the furthest. It was interesting to just hear the stories of the people in the room with us, not the ones that they are writing, but to hear about their own experience, or lack of (such as with dad and I). Everyone was so gracious, and I enjoyed meeting everyone in the room. The group was so diverse, I couldn't help but think that the day could be a setting for a novel itself. There was a journalist, a writer in residence, the woman almost finished with her novel who had an upcoming deadline, the nature/hiker non-fiction writer there was the retired couple who live on the beach who had an interest in Florida history and children's books, the editor/publisher, the mother/gardener, the poet, the doctorate-therapist, the physical therapist, the memoir lady with the sweet voice,the romance writer, and us- dad and I, myself being the photographer/writer, and my father the principal with ADD. A great cast of characters to spend a rainy day on the beach with. It was a once in a lifetime experience I will never forget.

A new year and new resolutions

I am a person who always makes new years resolutions, and not just one, but at least three or four. I feel like this way even if I only do one or two, I have accomplished something. And for the most part, I usually do follow through on at least two of them, and my life has become more enriched for doing so.

About four years ago, my resolution was to become involved in animal rescue. So I did. I attended a meeting of a local animal rescue group, all by myself, shocking my husband and family, since I don't usually do things like that. Or I didn't at that time- another byproduct of this resolution is that I have become more confident. I started out helping at the adoption hours at PetSmart, walking dogs, cleaning cages, and then gradually become more and more involved. I helped to begin the current rescue group I am in, P.A.W.S. of Michigan, two years ago, and in that two years we have as a group accomplished great things- a SNAP program, a pet food bank, a fantastic city shelter that is cared for by our volunteers, enriching and bettering the lives of the animals who are forced to live in cages before finding a home. This year we hope to get our low cost spay/neuter clinic open, which will drastically change things for the animals in our area.

Since then, my resolutions have included desires such as learning photography, organizing my closets (which I did, only to mess them up again months later), to sew, to create a backyard wildlife habitat, and to run a 5K. I haven't done too badly, I guess. I learned to sew; I can make curtains and coffee cup holder things, but not much else lol. As for the backyard and 5k, they are still on my list. With Penny, though, I may have to forgo the wildlife habitat- it would just be cruel to the animals to create a killing ground for my dog, not really much of a sanctuary at that point, more like Penny's very own hunting preserve instead.

This year I resurrected two of my older resolutions- I want to become a better photographer, and I want to run a 5k. I also want to work on my writing, and I want to try to write everyday, either here, my other blog, or on the story I am in the process of starting. My dad and I are going to Florida at the end of this month for a writing workshop, taught by one of our favorite authors, Connie May Fowler. I absolutely can't wait to go!! I am nervous to go, I am sure the other participants have novels in progress or have been published before, but at the same time, I know I have to start somewhere, and they were once like me.

I also have a goal for the 5k - one of my coworkers is organizing a team for a 5k run/walk for breast cancer, and I have signed up. I have until May to train. I am not a runner, but I hope to be by then. :)

What about you guys? Any resolutions, past or present that are on your mind?

I will leave you with this picture of Penny. Can you guess her New Years resolution?