Star Spangled Cat

Star Spangled Cat By Blanche Day Manos “What?” I screeched. “Go to sea? Are you crazy?” Every one of my gray and white hairs stood straight up. Reggie laughed. “You look like a bottle brush, old chap,” he said. “You’ll love the ocean!” Nay! I decidedly would not love the ocean. I hate water. I […]

Back to Bethel

It was not a church building. It was a schoolhouse. As I remember, it was painted white. There may have been a dividing curtain inside the house so that when school was in session, the teacher of the early grades could separate her classroom from the teacher and children of the upper grades. A schoolhouse […]

The Sound of Hope

The Sound of Hope

Last night, I attended my grandson’s spring chorus concert at his school’s new performing arts center. What a tremendous thing. If anyone is uncertain or critical of the younger generation, I’d invite them to go to hear the voices of youngsters raised in song. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen more talent among teens than […]

A-One and A-Two, And…

Nothing dates a person like her repertoire of songs. My repertoire is  a rusty, dusty, relic of a long ago yesterday. In my school days, both as a student and as a teacher, we began the day with singing, the Flag Salute, and the Lord’s Prayer. At Valley Center, one of the best elementary schools […]

The Emerald of the Atlantic

The Emerald of the Atlantic

  Green fields of every shade imaginable  could be the reason Ireland is known as the emerald isle. The country itself is small, about the size of the state of Indiana. Population is 6.4 million with a million of the people living in Dublin. It reminds me of a jewel, truly an emerald surrounded by […]

The Theme Song

The Theme Song

 I wonder if we realize the influence music has on each of our lives. When I hear the stirring first notes of My Own True Love, I instantly picture Scarlett O’Hara and Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. Each movie or TV show has its theme song and those opening notes tell us where we’re […]