SAUERKRAT FOR BREAKFAST? An Unusual New Year's Day Tradition

Oh, the trials and tribulations of being raised under the heavy mantle of family traditions. My mother, of German heritage, insisted that the first thing to pass our lips in the new year was a bite of sauerkraut. Easy for her, as she partied while the clock struck midnight and washed down her nibble of GOOD LUCK with (many) sips of the bubbly. Those of us early-to-bedders (at the insistence of a mean babysitter!) had the misfortune of being served sauerkraut for breakfast. Trust me when I say it does not pair well with Cap’n Crunch. Hence, my lifelong avoidance of sauerkraut (unless it tops a thick Ruben sandwich, and then only sparingly!)

'TIS THE SEASON, a Holiday Poem by Jayne

 <<I wrote this many years ago when my husband was deployed over the holidays. I read it every year to remind myself that military folks remain on station while we here stateside celebrate the season.>>

'TIS THE SEASON...

...of warm sugar cookies and jingle bells ringing;

of sleighs full of toys and carolers singing;

of Santas and Scrooges and tinsel and lights;

of long snowy walks with a loved one at night.

LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY VACAY

     My parents always ascribed to the motto that Vacations Must be Educational. I have eschewed that concept all of my adult life. I prefer my vacations to be relaxing and fun (aside from those that doubled as official Permanant Change of Station moves in conjunction with my husband's military career. Got to "See the USA" on Uncle Sam's dime!) 

     Imagine my surprise when my recent island escape turned enlightening!

     Over the recent holiday we tripped to Dauphine Island, AL to meet our grandson for the first time. Trust me when I say there is no better way to spend Thanksgiving. We were gone ten days, and during that time I added a lot of knowledge to my stack of life lessons. 

• I learned…that changing dirty diapers is like riding a bike! (This grandma’s still got skills!) Same for getting on the ground to play. Getting up…well…that’s a different story.

WRITING INCOGNITO

Jayne Ormerod is not my real name, but there a real person behind the nom de plume (translation: pen name.) Many (okay, most) people ask me, “Why do you write under a pseudonym?"

My first answer is always to assure them I am not running from the law. Or even the taxman. No the decision was much more personal: to be me, or not to be me? That was the question. Obviously, I chose not to be me. 

Here is the reason why... 

Picture this: A family dinner with my active-duty-military husband and twelve-year-old son, sitting on the back deck enjoying the gentle summer breeze. I’d prepared a meal of spicy shrimp scampi and Italian bread smothered with melted cheese, green onions and poppy seeds. After a glass (or three) of a spunky Pinot Grigio, I worked up enough courage to confess my lifelong secret.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN!

 Jayne's packing up all her books hitting the road Williamsburg, here she comes! 

WHAT I DID ON SUMMER VACATION--in 1972

This graphic popped up on my Facebook feed the other day, and I realized that times have not changed. It's a right of passage every September for students to write an essay on what they did on summer vacation. So here's mine. Granted, the vacation was in 1972, but through the prism of time I have come to appreciate what my parents did--and did not--teach us.  

The “educational” tag is SO over rated.  Especially when it comes to summer vacations.  My parents (a self-employed business man and an elementary school teacher) made it their mission to make sure we learned something over the summer break.  So while my friends were water skiing on Lake Michigan or riding donkeys down to bottom of the Grand Canyon or hanging out with Mickey & Minnie, my family was marching through the Smithsonian in DC or traipsing along the Freedom Trail in Boston or sitting (snoozing) through historical lectures in the City of Brotherly Love. 

   Did I have VA-CAY Envy?  You bet I did!

DEAR INCREDIBLE STORY IDEA...I will find you and I will write you!

      

One of the top questions I get asked by readers is, “Where do you get your inspiration for stories?”  The easier question to answer is, “Where DON’T I find inspiration?”  Everything I see, I wonder what the story behind it is, like these shoes in the image. It’s all about asking a few questions and then making up the answers.  

     Say you’re walking down the street of your small Midwestern town and notice that the large clock atop the town hall has stopped working. You ask yourself when and why did it stop?  A writer might (and one did) wonder if it had been struck by lightning. Hence the time it had been struck was preserved for future generations to cogitate about. That begs the question, if someone were to travel back in time and needed to harness a huge amount of energy, they would know what time the clock was struck and arrange to be there when the lightning struck. Hence with a few questions and a little imagination, you could have written Back to the Future. And you would have made a little bit of money doing so, too.