It was a dark and stormy night

Did you ever wonder where the phrase " It was a dark and stormy night" originated. Everytime I saw or heard of it, I did and then it floated right on through my butterfly brain....oh. alright. I'll stop.

Anyway, today I discovered this little gem explaining "It was a dark and stormy night " as well as the grand prize winning entry of The annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest, otherwise known as the worst opening paragraph writing contest.

"Folks say that if you listen real close at the height of the full moon, when the wind is blowin’ off Nantucket Sound from the nor’ east and the dogs are howlin’ for no earthly reason...."

for the rest, visit Ghostwoods.

I suggest leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for yourself.

Blueberry Skies

Because of this little event on my way home, I was able to drink in the biggest, bluest skies and clouds of the summer. Windows down, 78 degrees, moderate breeze; if you have to wait on construction, this is the way to do it.
You can't tell because I tool this from the car, but this is really,really tall corn that's closing in on harvest time.
Have you noticed how much I love my drive home? Isn't this a blueberry and cream sky if there ever was one? Today I wished for really wide lens. Note to self: remember this when it's icy, gray and below zero.

The Fourth of July in Farmland

Tradition exists in middle America, like this annual celebration in nearby, Fairbury,NE. Enjoy. Video by Keith Trimm, soundofffairbury.com.

Happy Birthday!

It's my favorite daughter's birthday today! That's safe to say because she is the only daugher, only child for that matter. So without hesitation, my favorite daughter! This was taken a looooooong time ago, when she turned 7. It was the year of She-ra, Princess of Power!

She-ra was a big hit that year. Everything in her life suddenly changed from Rainbow Bright to She-ra. Honestly, I think some of the independent, powerful qualaties of She-ra influenced her sense of her own empowerment. There were even fewer media role models for young girls in the 80's than there are today.

Even at 7, the girl knew who she was and where her line in the sand would be. She hated being the victim of the inevitable "girl-gang" cliques that even grade school girls form, so she was always trying to make friends with the outsider kids or stand up for the weaker ones. At seven, her sense of fair play was already deeply ingrained.

She was awkward in ballet class, fearless on her bike. She wrote her first book; the awakening of her lifelong passion; books and writing. She loved that her birthday was July 4, but hated being called a "little firecracker".

She was opinionated and obstinate. Loving, kind, generous and magical. As she is today.

Life in Six Words

I read about an interesting project begun by Smith magazine magazine, encouraging readers to tell their stories in only six words. It was inspired by a very short (and I do mean very short) story written by Heminway. Only six words to speak volumes; "For sale: baby shoes, never worn."

The idea has evolved into several thematic books and spawned several other projects. There are more examples in this article at Wired magazine. Even AARP is getting in on the act, with a Six Word Memoirs project with varying topic assignments.

For me, to be successful at this this, the words must connect and somehow form a coherant thought. Obviously, if six free standing words do it for you, go for it. It sounds so easy, doesn't it. I've found it's really quite difficult. Try it. Share your story.

Here's mine.

Supporting player, never the star, survives.