St. Patricks Day. What is Myth? What is Fact?

Today is St. Patrick's Day. As a writer I am always interested and constantly checking on what is myth and what is fact. Of course sometimes no one seems to know, especially when a person lived hundreds of years ago and record keeping was minimal. Most of history was word of mouth. That's a little like playing the game telephone when you were young. "Mother" may turn into "father," and "house" may turn into "mouse." I guess what I'm saying is always take these stories with the proverbial grain of salt.

The person we now call St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland, maybe was born in 385 A.D or 415 A.D and maybe died on March 17th, (St. Patrick's Day) 461 A.D. or 493 A.D. Was he Irish as most people believe? No. He was born in Britain though no one seems to be sure where. Maybe England, maybe Wales.

Actually, although many people believe he was poor, Maewa Succat was born into an aristocratic family. His parents were Romans living in Britain in charge of the colonies. But here comes the interesting part. At the age of 16, Irish raiders or maybe pirates, kidnapped him and took him to Ireland where they sold him to a farmer to work in the fields. He became a sheepherder. For six years he was what we would probably now call a slave. At the time Ireland worshipped a pagan God, but Britain had already converted to Christianity. One day Maewa heard what he believed to be God's voice inside of him say that it was time for him to return to Britain. He escaped and returned to Wales to his family. Shortly after he went to France where he became a Catholic priest. He took Patrick as his Christian name.

Again Patrick heard God's voice, this time telling him to go back to Ireland and preach Christianity. Patrick did as he was told. He became a missionary and he and his followers brought thousands to Christ. They built many churches. Even today, the Irish consider him to be the person who brought Christianity to Ireland and they honor him as a religious figure in their churches and also as a cultural icon.

According to some, St. Patrick used a shamrock to show the native people what he meant when he spoke of the Christian doctrine of the trinity. The three leaves. Was that really true? No one seems to know for sure. According to some the shamrock did not exist in Ireland but indeed the clover leaf did. On the other hand some believe the shamrock was the symbol of the cross. So who's to tell?

And then there is the story that St. Patrick banished all the snakes from Ireland. But we have since found out that no snakes ever lived in Ireland. As a matter of fact, Ireland is an island and the passageway between Britain and Ireland is so cold no snakes would have survived. I asked myself why some people had created the myth and what I came up with was that indeed there were no snakes in Ireland when the myth began, and because humans always need to make sense of things, people decided to attribute it to the great hand of God through St. Patrick. But this is what I learned. Apparently snakes had become the symbol for paganism in the church. And so the myth was born. Interesting.

What we know today is that alcohol always seems to flow freely on St. Pattie's Day. Why? Sounds strange seeing as it is a religious holiday. I thought it was just because that's the way the Irish were. Heavy drinkers. That to some extent may be true but there is more to it. March 17th often occurs during Lent. One thing you are to give up for Lent is alcohol. But the church gave a dispensation for St. Patrick's Day and wow! People have taken advantage of it. The holiday has turned into an alcohol fueled revelry, parades, celebration, and festivals. And by the way the parades did not originate in Ireland. They started in America in 1737.

In 1996, the Irish decided to begin a day of festivals in Dublin to attract tourists. By 2009 that one day had turned to five days and about a million people attended.What fun! I'm glad the Irish have a sense of humor and like to enjoy life. Without it life could definitely become a drag.

Who cares what is fact or myth?

Guess what I am making for dinner tonight? Is it true that corned beef brisket and cabbage began in Ireland? Not really, but if I keep going I'll never end this blog.

The luck of the Irish be with you dear readers.

Enthralled with The Goldfinch

Reading is a rare privilege.

 After having spent the past two weeks in the company of a master, I feel as if my life has now changed forever. After reading a book like The Goldfinch, one doesn't emerge unscathed.The characters remain, concern for them lingers, and the settings have left an indelible imprint.

Donna Tartt's latest work encompasses a world unto itself. The tale of a young man enduring- post traumatic stress, the loss of his mother, an obsession with a painting, and uncertain care-  had me enthralled from start to finish. Thrown to the winds of fate, Theo Decker is lucky to find one very good and kind man who becomes his guiding light.

By the grace of God, there are writers who have the ability to take the reader by the hand and lead them into the doorway of a world so perfectly described that it ceases to exist in the imagination: it becomes real. Dickens could have written this book; the characters could have been drawn by him as they are that fine.

As it turns out, I am not the only reader to come up with this assessment. While browsing on Goodreads, I was surprised to find that Stephen King chimed in:

" Theo Decker’s mother is killed in a bombing that rocks the Metropolitan Museum of Art; Theo, unharmed, escapes with a valuable painting called The Goldfinch. He carries this symbol of grief and loss from early adolescence into an adulthood fraught with danger and beset by addiction. The long middle sequence, set in a housing development on the seedy, sand-blown outskirts of Las Vegas, is a standout. Tartt proves that the Dickensian novel—expansive and bursting with incident—is alive and well."

Years ago, our book club read Tartt's first novel,  The Secret History, and then the second, The Little Friend and now surely the best book I have read in 2014, The Goldfinch. As in Girl With A Pearl Earring, a  painting is a central theme. The work by Carel Fabritius, a student of Rembrant's,  is beautifully and exquisitely described, and is the thread that pulls us through from start to finish. Depicted is a dear little finch, chained to a perch, sad, and hopeful at once; it is a simple and elegant, much loved painting that has enthralled art lovers and critics for centuries. Tartt describes the masterpiece as one that appeals to children. 

Carel Fabritius 1622-1654

If you long to read a book that sweeps you away and becomes an experience, if you love antiques, New York, fine painting, and beautiful writing, you will be captured by this novel. As winter drags on, curl up, and treat yourself to some deep thinking as you become taken up with The Goldfinch.

High in the Andes

 We are pleased to offer this post from my friend, Mary Averett.  She is married to writer Ed Averett whose latest book, Cameron and the Girls has achieved critical acclaim. Mary and Ed are carving out a new life for themselves in Ecuador.  Her updates about their adventures are so bright and vivid that I eagerly await the next installment.

                                                      Velvet Purple Coronet

I’m compelled to write, right now, due to the wildly changeable weather. It was, and has been a beautiful week of non-stop sunny weather with rather warm temperatures, most likely mainly in the 70-72 range. The sun here is always intense, but one rarely feels too warm, as here, 8,000 feet up in the Andes, there is always a breeze. It’s kind of an enigma to feel the intensity of the sun when it isn’t really that warm, but one does, even when the temperature is in the 60’s sometimes.

Ed and I have been working a lot outside and making great progress. We like going out early in the morning and working until around noon. Many climbing vines are planted and growing, and my herb garden plantings have taken off with parsley, basil and dill that will all be in abundance rather soon, as they are growing now, visibly, each day. Somehow the mint died, so my plan is to replant mint and rosemary later this week, or next. In the last week, we have cleared many places of 50 years of detritus (little pieces of roof tile, bricks, concrete somethings that are now in pieces, old parts of looms as this was a weaving center and lots of small pieces of plastic sacks that have, in some way, deteriorated but not gone away). By now, we have planted several different flowering plants via both seed and by the plant. We found a wonderful nursery in Ibarra and bought quite a few things there, including a jacaranda tree, which we had in Spain, loved and have always wanted again. Lavender is in a row along one side of the grass yard we have that is kind of the entryway to the house. It has what most of us would consider a tree of fuchsia. Our northwestern weather would never allow one of these spectacular plants to develop as this one has. It is often host to several beautiful emerald colored hummingbirds, called picaflor here and there is a perfect view of it and them outside our kitchen window. Now and then there is a yellow and black one, but most of them, and they are many, are emerald green – bright – and black, and they love our fuchsia tree.

Anyway, compelling tonight is an almost immediate and drastic change. First, out in the distance, I heard some thunder. Within a minute or two it was near. Then, within five minutes it was raining….hard. Now, five minutes later, or maybe seven, it has stopped, the sky has cleared and I know tomorrow will be a sunny, and wonderful day. Meanwhile, the seeds I planted yesterday and watered lightly thereafter, are now well watered and most likely bursting with the idea of sprouting.

When I was a young girl, my brother and I went to visit our Uncle Dick and Aunt Pat at Kelly Creek Ranger Station in Idaho. I’m not sure how high it was, but it was in the mountains, rather high, and I do recall rain behavior that was somewhat similar, but it must be the elevation and the equator that makes it so dramatic here.

A few minutes ago I could hardly hear anything but the rain falling on the tile roof. Now, the dogs next door seem to be celebrating the cessation of the rain, as they are all barking, and again I can hear cars go by up on the road.

As I see on Facebook today, snow is on the ground in Spokane. Here, we have just experienced a tropical mountain rainstorm. It seems strange to be so far away and, still, to feel so close to my loved ones.

Craving Lobster Chowder

We are pleased to offer this guest post from Dana Tuttle. She is a busy Mom with a passionate interest in history.

                                            Statue of Mary Dyer in Boston,
                                             by Sylvia Shaw Judson


Should I worry that I am obsessed with dead housewife theologians? Why do the guys with the beards and the cigars get all the attention? These women who loved God and were executed fascinate me. Whether it was false accusations within a marriage, or a determination to do something radical for God…I am intrigued. How do these women end up laying their heads on chopping blocks, being racked until their bones dislocate, tied to the stake to be burnt alive, or simply pushed off of a scaffold with a rope around their neck? I want to know what drives these women to their untimely deaths and I always try to figure out what they could have done differently.  All of them were strong-willed, feisty, and brave—each one with her own unique story. I have a deep love for Anne Boleyn, Anne Askew, Lady Jane Grey and now, my fascination continues with Mary Dyer. She was the first woman to be executed on American soil for her religious beliefs.
I appreciate that my daddy knows me well and gave me a copy of My American Eden: Mary Dyer, Martyr for Freedom, by Elizabeth S. Brinton, for Christmas. I admit that I have been so wrapped up in the English Reformation that I forgot that some of those feisty women sailed to America! With such a huge interest, I was shocked that I had not heard of Mary Dyer. I was eager to learn about her and Brinton did not disappoint. I quickly got sucked into the world of Boston, Massachusetts in the year 1635, and into the lives of the Dyer family as they arrived in the harbor. Brinton did a wonderful job of telling the story and painting the scene in my mind. She gave an accurate picture of what happened, as well as an unbiased opinion of the characters. I felt compassion for Mary, her husband, William, her children, her friend, Anne Hutchinson, and her servant, Irene who is the voice in the story.
What is really interesting is how Brinton has the gift of making me crave lobster chowder and planted in me a desire to visit Newport, Rhode Island and Boston, Massachusetts. Now that is a good author! The more I read, the more I was compelled to research Mary and the facts surrounding her. I always know that I am reading a good historical fiction when I find myself saying, “Nuh uh!” out loud and looking it up, only to find that it is recorded in history. This gave me the confidence in Brinton as an author. I have read historical fictions that are so embellished that it completely loses its integrity as “historical.” I really appreciate how closely she stuck to the truth, while maintaining her creativity as a writer.
The thing about historical fiction is that you already know the ending, so the author’s goal is to fill in the blanks and help us to understand how the ending came to be. In particular, how did Mary Dyer, known as “The Rebel Saint,” end up swinging from a rope by her neck in Boston, Massachusetts. On June 1^st, 1660, Mary Dyer willingly allowed herself to be executed as an example and to cause the laws banning Quakers, or any other choice of worship, from being persecuted or put to death.
Mary Dyer is famous for the moment when immediately after she was pushed off of the platform “a gust of wind blew across the common, catching Mary’s skirt, puffing it full with a snap. Her dress billowed as a sail does when suddenly grabbed by the wind. Someone said, ’She hangs there like a flag’” (viii). Her execution caused a lot of controversy, and soon after, the laws putting Quakers to death were changed.
The word “journey” is overused these days to describe one’s spiritual life. But for Mary, it truly was a journey! Born an Anglican in England, she and her husband, William followed a band of Puritans to America. They became respected citizens in their colony. Mary, and several other women, began following the famous, Anne Hutchinson, who was banned from the colony for her antinomian beliefs. I could go off into a huge theological discussion here, but I want to stick to the review of Brinton’s book.  Anne’s theology was attractive to the women of her town and they felt spiritually fed by this loving midwife. For their involvement, Mary and her husband, William, were disenfranchised and had to leave the colony with the rest of the men and women who followed Anne Hutchinson. The Dyers moved and settled twice before finally settling in Newport, Rhode Island. Here is where the story takes a twist and begins to bother me. Mary decides that she needs to go back to England to settle her estate. She went against her husband’s will and she left behind 5 children. The youngest son was only two years old! She promised to be back soon, but ended up staying for 5 years!
During her time in England, she met George Fox, the founder of the Quakers, and quickly converted. It was an easy step from Anne Hutchinson’s antinomian theology. Mary was unaware that Quakers were banned in Boston and was immediately arrested, strip-searched and whipped upon her arrival in the harbor. She was kept in jail with no heat or light for two months before her husband got word that she was there. He was given custody of her and she was banned from ever returning to Boston. They returned to Newport and Mary saw her children after 5 long years.  Upon her arrival home, she left her family again and secluded herself on another island with other Quakers.  Then finally, she went back to Boston against her husband’s will and the law that banned her, to make herself an example.
I loved the voice Brinton gave Mary’s husband, William. Page after page, he continued to support her, forgive her, and persuade her to stay home to serve in her calling as a wife and mother.  “Yea, joyfully I go” (229). In my opinion, Mary missed out on all the opportunities that God had placed right in front of her. God blessed her with a new world, a loving husband, a home full of children who needed her love and guidance, and an island of friends and neighbors to love and serve in her vocation as a mere housewife theologian.
Yet, as I read Mary’s story as an American woman, I am reminded that I have the freedom to believe what I want to believe and attend the church of my choice. I must respect the fact that she was a huge influence on the foundation of the religious freedom we enjoy in our country. Mary contributed willingly to our American history and the freedom we have today.  Read Brinton’s book, it is fascinating!
Now, about that lobster chowder…mmm!

 

www.amazon.com/My-American-Eden-Elizabeth-Brinton-ebook/dp/B00AGHKFS4/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=1-1&qid=1394455589

Author's Note:


It may be interesting to add that Sylvia Shaw Judson is the creator of the Bird Girl statue featured on the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. In the case of the statue of Mary Dyer, created in 1959, the model who sat for the sculpture was Anna Cox Brinton, grandmother to my husband, Howard Brinton. This fact came to light well after my work on Mary Dyer had begun.

The Ides of March and March Madness

  So many interesting dates fill the calendar this month. Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent was March 5, March 15  we mark the Ides of March, on the 17th is St. Patrick's  Day, two days later, the Feast of St. Joseph, when the swallows return to Mission San Juan Capistrano. And of course, March Madness when  for two weeks college  basketball (NCAA Men's Division) is the all the rage and talk of the nation (Go, Zags!) . Not to overlook Daylight Savings Time March 9,  and the first day of Spring March 20.

It  seems to me March makes a perfect month for a writing marathon. As writers,  we all need to be inspired, motivated, and find material for what we want to write about. Stories and characters  could be developed around  Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire,  the wee leprechaun and Irish folklore, or a study about the miracle of the 'Swallows'  that takes place each St. Joseph's day at the most famous mission in California.

In his book, the Daily Writer, Fred White provides mediations to help writers, and has chosen  several helpful themes for March, including Establishing The Journal-Writing  Habit,  Observing the Details, and Exacting the Unusual From Everyday Experiences .

His mediation for March 14 , Writing To Preserve History was thoughtful when he offers for further reflection:

      Writing is essential to preserving history. Not only that, the quality of the writing - its precision, its depth of coverage - determines the quality of the historical record. If you plan to write a historical event , you must be faithful to the historical record and correct inaccuracies in the existing record.

It's still early March, I encourage all you writers,  pick  a theme and start writing !

How Many Books?

     The other day I was  perusing  a list of best selling books printed in the newspaper, and  for some reason  tried to imagine all the books , in all the world , throughout all time  and pondered how many there could be. I decided it's a question that can't be answered.  Okay, I thought to myself, narrow it down to how many books about writing have been written?  Again, no answer. I'm guessing there must be hundreds of thousands.  In my  personal  home  library are forty-five.

       Some of the titles include: Your Life as Story, The Memoir Book, Word Painting, The Careful Writer, The New York Times Everyday Reader's Dictionary of Misunderstood, Misused, Mispronounced Words, Strunk and White The Elements of Style, Write Right!, Stephen King: On Writing, Writng Down the Bones, The Art and Craft of Poetry, A Guide to Query Letters,  and so many more.  

                                                                                       

 

      While I've been published in newspapers and magazines, I have  yet to write memoir or novel.  That's why all the helpful, how to write books on my shelf.  I long to be a better writer, and have my book published, so I look to the experts for guidance and instruction on writing  - whether it be sentence structure, plot, description or correct grammar.  

       I must admit I haven't read every chapter of every book on writing I own, but have read through most, and find all to be helpful, not only for the moment, but as a continual source of reference and study. As useful as a dictionary or thesaurus .  

       One helpful tip came from Story Craft - The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Non-Fiction by Jack Hart 

 

                                                                                          
       "A resolution. Resolution is the ultimate aim of every story. The resolution releases the dramatic tension created as the protagonist struggles with the complication. It contains the lesson that the audience carries away , the insight that the story's readers or viewers or listeners  can apply to their own lives."

          As an example, if I were to write about  a woman wanting to attend a get together with a group of friends from high school,  but  her  friends chose dates that included her  mother's 81st  birthday, while they seemingly worked around  dates to suit their needs,  it would present struggle and tension - complication.  As the writer ,  I would have to let the reader know the protagonist overcame the struggle, and give insight to a lesson learned. In this case, perhaps , the mother's own unselfish attitude so her daughter could  freely participate with her long time girlfriends, from long ago.

           We may never know the exact number of how many books have been written thoughout the ages , or even how many books have been written about writing, but I encourage all writers to build your own personal reference library of books that will be helpful to the betterment of your writing skill. 

          

       

   

     

   

The Preposition

This past weekend I attended Winter Camp with  a group of women I became friends with last Fall while we paddled  the shores of Lake Coeur d Alene in classic war canoes - the 104 mile adventure was a fund raiser for Camp Sweyolakan on Mica Bay. It's an achievement we're all proud of.

Winter Camp was somewhat of a reunion , not only to reminisce about our paddling adventure , but make new memories, too. We played  marathon games of Progressive Rummy and  Mexican Train ( a Domino game) , cooked and shared meals together, and laughed a lot.  The conversation was never dull,  we covered many topics , including the proper use of prepositions when writing a sentence.

Prior to their retirement, some of the women had been educators. I listened with interest as they lamented the fact so many young people  today don't know how to construct a sentence. I thought how  easy for any of us today to  fall into lazy habits, especially when using email and text, so  I decided to review what a preposition is, and how  and when it  should be used.

Referencing one of my old textbooks, Voyages in English from grade school ,  a preposition is a word or group of words that shows the relationship between a substantive and some other word in the sentence.

    The paddlers  relish song at camp.

The most commonly used prepositions are : about, above, across , after, against , amount, around, at, before, behind, beside, between, beyond, by, down, during except, for, from ,in, into, near, of , off, on, over, past, through, throughout, to toward, under, until, up, with.

The preposition may be a single word or a group of words used as one preposition

     Laughter came from the houseboat.
     The canoe stayed in spite of the schedule.

Groups of words that are considered one preposition when used with a substantive include the following: on account of, instead of, in addition to, in regard to, in spite of, in front of, because of, by means of , for the sake of.

The object of a preposition is a noun, a pronoun, or a group of words used as a noun. A noun or any word that takes place of a noun is called a substantive.

      We cannot paddle without Huck's help . (Noun)
       Scottie gave the recipe to her. (Pronoun)
       From across the lake came the paddlers. (Prepositional phrase)

Sometimes there can be confusion as to the correct use of a preposition. For example, 'different from'  and 'different with'. Differ with denotes disagreement of opinion. Differ from denotes differences between persons or things.

        I differ with you about the scoring of the game.
        The banners differ from each other in width.

After the adjective different use from, not than.

         The writing is different from hers.

Or 'angry with and 'angry at'. Use angry with a person; angry at a thing.

          She is angry with Barbara.
          We were angry at the result

 I'm grateful for my weekend at Winter Camp and  camaraderie of  these women who taught me  how to paddle, play Progressive Rummy, and make the best ever blueberry waffles,  and yesterday  reminded me  of the importance of a preposition.

***  http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/prepositions