Blog Archives

Colossal Book Signing

9/29/2014

OK, so it may not quite be colossal, but it will be unprecedented for this area. This Saturday from 1:00-4:00, I will join other local authors from the Joplin area at the public library. Over 20 of us will be meeting and greeting people at the library...and talking about our books and the writing process...and signing copies for interested parties.

Come. Join us. Browse. Ask questions. Enjoy. This event promises to be interesting for all.

Have You Ever Seen an Author Juggle?

9/26/2014

Between teaching school, taking care of responsibilities for the church, and shuttling my daughter to her performances at the local community theater (where she performs in The Wizard of Oz and Annie), I feel as if I have been juggling, this week. To add to all the festivities, tomorrow (noon to 1:30) I will spend some time signing my books at Always Buying Books on North Main in Joplin (Airport Drive).

Come by this wonderful local attraction and say hello. I'd love to meet some new people and talk to some old friends.

Book Signing

9/12/2014

I will be signing books at Bob's Always Buying Books on North Main Street, just outside of the Joplin, Missouri, city limits. Come buy, or just come by just to show me some support during the midday hours on Saturday, September 27.

Crumbling Spirit: 4/19 and 9/11

9/11/2014

Today being the anniversary of the terrorist attacks on our homeland, I am reminded of the plethora of emotions that wracked this nation 13 years ago. As a 25-year veteran elementary school teacher, I experienced 9/11/01 in my own unique way. As a veteran teacher who had already experienced the bombing in Oklahoma City, I had my own perspective to 9/11, as well.

I remember hearing about the World Trade Center attack in the morning hours. I had just dropped my class off for music class when a parent entered the building and demanded that we turn on a TV to see what was happening. The images were breathtaking. Startling. And the people watching quickly became nervous and fearful. Many sped to the gas stations as rumors were already circulating about the coming $8 per gallon price.

When I picked up my students to return them to the classroom, I paused. My fourth graders had already entered the classroom when I turned to my colleague in the room next door. I remember telling him, "I don't know if I can do this." Already, in my mind, I was thinking of the images of the bombing in Oklahoma City: the sound of it, he images, and my dealings with teachers, parents, and students on the day of the blast. Already I was recalling the actions I was responsible for taking on that day in 1995: locking the school building, informing and calming teachers, and letting parents into the door only to hug their children and send them back to classes.

Of course, I could "do this". I could go into that classroom, and I could indeed face this different group of children...and I could do it with the confidence that I knew how this all worked. I had seen and responded to a terrorist attack six years prior. I had counseled my second graders through the similar horrific event (even those who had lost family friends in the explosion). I had done all of these things (and perhaps more) and survived. Facing 9/11 would be similar but different, and I could face it in my far-from-New-York-or-Washington classroom. I knew what to say to children and how to say it. When others were wary, I was able to share my experience with them.

I could face 9/11 because I had been strengthened by 4/19.

Read a fictionalized account of my experiences in Crumbling Spirit.

Crumbling Spirit: The Sounds of Terror

9/7/2014

The sound of the May 19, 1995, explosion in Oklahoma City was that of a sonic boom just overhead or a Civil War cannon in close proximity.

And I stood four miles away from it.

I don't think I can imagine what it must have sounded like from Ground Zero...but I can imagine that the sounds that followed must have evoked deep-centered emotions. The cracking of marble, the breaking of concrete and reinforcing steel rods, and the shattering of glass would have been sudden and loud, but the sounds that followed would have taken an eternity and must have stayed with survivors and rescuers for the rest of their lives.

A shout from a woman trapped beneath a beam.

A cry from a man with glass in his eyes.

Sirens from emergency vehicles.

The instructions from initial rescue crews.

Warnings shouted by strangers.

Reports of another victim who didn't survive the blast.

Then again, some may be blessed and cursed with failing memories: the mental blockage of an event too horrific to recall. Certainly the conglomerate noises of the terrorist bombing in Oklahoma City will haunt some people for years to come. With the coming anniversary of another attack, perpetrated on September 11, 2001, in DC, PA, and NY, my prayers continue to rise for all who were involved. We cannot imagine their pain, but we must continue to understand their suffering.

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