EN 455
Thirty-two different shoe soles — heavy treading, youthful bounces, step patterns somewhere in between — all hit the ground at some point before night’s end to breach the boundary of inside and out. So many heads hit the hay here that, frankly, it’s too many; this house isn’t built for sixteen.
Continue reading “The Crowded Korytoskis: Fit to Bust on Beam Street”
In 1900, Britt, Iowa, became the the first city in the state to host a national convention. The city council of Britt sought to catch the attention of the press, and therefore tourists, and with the enactment of the National Hobo Convention the council accomplished its goal.
“We few, we happy few, we band of brothers, for he who sheds his blood with me on this day shall be my brother.”
William Shakespeare wrote that as part of his famous St. Crispin’s Day speech in Henry V. This kind of mentality exists throughout military history, even sometimes crossing battle lines. Put yourself back in the 1940s. You are in the middle of a battle in a faraway country where you have never been to before.
Mississippi Dancing Queen
“Momma? How come my name is so weird?”
“Why would you say it’s weird?” asked my mother, a little sadly.
“Well, no one else has my name and I can never remember how to spell it!”
Momma laughed as she brushed my hair out before bed. “You were named for
One of the earliest stories my mother shared was from when she got into her mother’s makeup as a child. The story goes that my mother snuck into my Nana’s makeup bag in the bathroom and pulled out all her red lipsticks. Nana only wore red lipstick. Apparently while my mom examined all the pretty
Continue reading “Lipstick: Alternative Bathroom Decorating”
Dice clatter in succession over one, two, three tabletops, bouncing in spite of their edges and angles. Coasters are shifted, glasses are raised, and fruity fluids flow until their bit of bite raises volume and eyebrows simultaneously.
A Facebook search for my grandfather, Allen Noonan, reveals thousands of results. Most of these results lead to other Allens: younger Allens, Allens who were alive for the invention of Facebook.
My great grandfather was one of the many children who spent their early years during one of the United States’ most difficult times. Adults were not the only people who suffered during the Great Depression. It’s hard to think of children suffering, especially when they are your great grandfather, but when I close my eyes, I imagine scenes like this: Continue reading “Getting to Know BB Norris”
I never knew the woman I was named after. She died in the early 90s, three weeks after she walked my mother down the aisle. Left behind were 7 adult children, a house that had been added on to at least once as the family grew over 16 years, and 3 things just for me. Of course, nobody knew that yet. I wasn’t born until nearly four years after her death, and even then parts of this treasure trove stayed hidden until 18 years later, tucked away in a faded cardboard box deep inside my mom’s closet.
Dorothea Lange took this photo in February of 1936 in Saint Luis Obispo County, California. It depicts a migrant worker and the car he lives in. This photo paints a familiar picture of the Great Depression. By depicting a migrant