Come celebrate my funeral

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

COME CELEBRATE MY FUNERAL

 SCRIPTURE: Genesis 15:15     And you shall to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old (hoary) age.  (Amp)

REFLECTION: My friend Norma Leary wrote in jest that perhaps we ought to take the “fun” out of the word “funeral.” Might I add that since most funerals are somber occasions a more realistic word would be “somberal?”

     Funerals, for the Christian, should have an element of

Kudzu in Pennsylvania? OH, NO!

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

KUDZU IN PENNSYLVANIA? OH, NO!

 State gears up to battle kudzu, the Ligonier (PA) Echo headline warned.    

     KUDZU? Here? In Pennsylvania?

     I’d previously posted a warning story about kudzu on this site (to read KUDZU BLACKOUTS click on A KUDZU COVERED VEHICLE GRAVEYARD  or visit www.carolyncholland.wordpress.com and click on the HUMOR category and scroll down).

     It makes sense to warn persons to be wary of Pueriaria Lobata (its scientific name) in southeastern United States, where the Leguminosae (member of the pea family, biologically speaking) grows so prolifically it’s a.k.a. is

July celebrations: Part 2

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

 JULY CELEBRATIONS: PART 2

To read July Celebrations, Part 1, click on: July Celebrations: Part 1

      On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 Lunar landing began with liftoff from Kennedy Space Center at 9:37 a.m. And on this day, in 1999, John F. Kennedy piloted a plane with passengers Carolyn Bessette Kennedy (his wife) and her sister Lauren.It disappeared from radar at 9:40 p.m. This was the same day that the founder of Christian Science sect Mary Baker Eddy was born in 1821..

     What connects the color yellow—bright, sunny, cheerful,— pigs and mathematicians? Yellow

The Cat with the Calico Tail

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

THE CAT WITH THE CALICO TAIL

      Repeatedly I’m asked why the wooden cat sitting on my windowsill is painted so silly, having a gray and orange striped tail attached to its all-white body. A few years ago my artistic niece Debbie painted the craft item for me, using our cat as a model.

     Shenan (short for Shenandoah) joined our family in August, 1985. Her creation-day tale explains the incongruousness of her body and tail.

     You see, Shenan began on the kitten-makin’

The Isles of Shoals: Beauty, Mystery, Intrigue

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

THE ISLES OF SHOALS: BEAUTY, MYSTERY, INTRIGUE

I had just learned of the death of my aunt and uncle, Marion and Gene Stegner. Marion died at March 28, 2007. Gene died June 2, 2007. I’m posting this New England article in their memory.

      Last year my aunt, Marion Stegner of North Tonawanda, N. Y., put me in touch with one of her friends, Roy Webber because we had something in common: an interest in the Isles of Shoals.
     I wanted to take a boat excursion to the islands, something I’d seen only in the distance during childhood and adult visits to Wallis Sands Beach. From the beach they appear to be

From the Bastille to Cinderella

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

FROM THE BASTILLE TO CINDERELLA

      In writing my historic romance novel, circa 1790s, I struggled to determine a starting point. After doing much research, I realized that all the characters appearing in the beginning of the novel had witnessed the Fall of the Bastille in France on July 14, 1789. I decided to have them sharing their experiences several weeks later as they imbibed in chocolate coffee, a popular drink in Paris at that time.

     I researched eyewitness and news accounts of the event in preparation for writing their conversation. One comment intrigued me. It referred to the days of the warring as The Night and Orcus. What did this mean?

     I typed “Orcus” into the computer search engine and learned that Orcus is an alternative name for Satan. Thomas Carlyl described the era as follows: From Sunday afternoon (exclusive of intervals and pauses not final) till Thursday evening, there follow consecutively a Hundred Hours. Which hundred hours are to be reckoned with the hours of the Bartholomew Butchery, of the Armagnac Massacres, Sicilian Vespers, or whatsoever is savagest in the annals of this world. Horrible the hour when

Eliminate feral birds: A call for political action

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

ELIMINATE FERAL BIRDS:

A Call for Political Action

 This is a follow-up of a previous post, FERAL BIRDS: THE LATEST COMMUNITY HAZARD.  The stories keep coming in. Michael’s story is compelling!

      Michael’s story: It happened in June (2009), very early in the morning, between Ford City and Kittanning (PA). I was traveling on a work assignment. It was too cold to open the car windows, about 60 degrees.

     When it warmed up, I decided to put my window down. As I reached to do so, I saw something from the corner of my eye, on my left side. I thought it was a bird and that it would slip away, and shoot up the window to the other side of the car. But no sooner had I put my window down when something came into the car and nailed me in the head. It happened fast, and I didn’t see what it was at first—I just saw feathers flying.

     I looked to the right and saw

July Celebrations: Part 1

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

JULY CELEBRATIONS: PART 1

     Ah, July is National Anti-Boredom Month. But what, I would like to inquire, is boredom? It sounds like something I would like to experience occasionally! To read about dealing with office boredom, click on WORKPLACE STRESS REDUCTION ACTIVITIES: MORTIFYING AND FUN

     Boredom can be reduced by celebrating National Blueberry Month. A side-member of my ancestral family, Gladys, told me she was going to kick up blueberries rather than roses. It is an apt choice, for when she died

Take Me Out to the Ball Game…So Reluctantly I Go

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

 TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME

…So Reluctantly I Go

 There are two kinds of people—those who like baseball,

and those who will when they stop being idiots…

      According to the above line from the play, Honus & Me, I am an “idiot.” I am not a sports fan, and never will be. And baseball is a sport.

     You have to understand three things. First, my husband Monte is enthusiastic about sports—especially football and hockey. He is ecstatic that Pittsburgh has two champion teams, the Steelers and the Penguins. Our son Nolan and his wife Tammy, and our son-in-law Michael are even more enthusiastic about sports, especially baseball-related games, while my daughter, Sandra, enjoys sports, but perhaps to a lesser degree.

     Michael’s enthusiasm—or perhaps, compulsion—is evidenced by his collection of sports paraphernalia—especially items representing

Three Women Wildly Battle With UNO Cards

CAROLYN’S COMPOSITIONS

THREE WOMEN WILDLY BATTLE WITH UNO CARDS

The Truno Tribe Members Unabashably Compete

     The post-July 4 weekend found three women—Lousy-Hand Lois, Ardent Arlene and Coy Carolyn, playing animated games of Uno. They decided to call themselves the Truno Tribe—”Tr” for trio, “uno” for Uno. Below is the poem they penned as they played:

All is fair in love and Uno,

          Especially with the players Truno.

Are we true? Definitely no!

          We cheat and bleat and cheat so.

Red, blue, now yellow, now green.  

          All who listen hear us