Memory of the Month: When the World Went Black

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I love to travel. Ralph did, too, once I talked him into a trip. But in 1991 I didn't have to convince him. The minute he saw the article about the Museum of Natural Science's trip to Oaxaca, Mexico to see the upcoming solar eclipse, he was ready to sign up.

We'd been on a trip with the Museum's astronomy expert before--to Chile to see Haley's Comet--and it was great fun, watching the starry sky from the Chilean desert. Now we'd see another once-in-a-lifetime sight, a total eclipse of the sun.

Oaxaca was crowded with tourists eager for their adventure. We visited the observatory there and heard a lecture on the eclipse and the safe way to view it. Never look directly at the sun, even if it's obscured by the moon, or you're likely to be blinded, so we had special dark glasses for the viewing.

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We traveled to the impressive ruins at Monte Alban, toured the wide plaza and some of the stone buildings, then had a picnic lunch. As the time for the eclipse neared, throngs of people arrived. Nearby was a group with painted faces, drumming as they waited for the sun to disappear. My heart pounded. How had it felt, centuries ago to the Mayans and Aztecs, when suddenly the world went dark?

Gradually the light dimmed and we could see the moon moving across the sun, slowly covering it. An eerie, gray-greenish light surrounded us. We could see Jupiter, Mercury and Venus in line with the moon. A shadow passed over the valley, and the air grew cold. We stood in the dark, the drums pounding in the background, the drummers chanting in time. A minute passed, then two, then three...and the light returned.

It's a memory I'll always cherish and a special day shared with Ralph.

Recommended Site: Gotham Writers Workshop

Here's a site every writer should know about.

I came upon Gotham by chance (Hooray for Google!) when I was searching for a class on memoir writing. I came upon a treasure trove of workshops for writers at any stage in their careers. Want to be a travel writer? Screenwriter? Memoir writer? Blogger? Whatever your goal, Gotham has a workshop to fit your needs. Although some are in New York, the majority are online as well, so you can take a writing class in your pajamas (or in nothing at all if you wish). You'll get lectures, critiques by the instructor, critiques by your fellow class members, entry to a chat room set aside for your class.

I signed up for Memoir Writing I and began a memoir about my husband's last year of life, then took Memoir II and finally Advanced Memoir. Our instructor, Ana Maria Spagna, is amazing. The group of us who took the advanced class stayed in touch, continued to critique each other's work and kept up with news about each other's lives. Next month several of us are meeting in Lake Tahoe for a reuion and a class on essay writing with Ana Maria. Lake Tahoe in late October, personalized writing instruction...what could be better?

I can't promise you a trip to Lake Tahoe, but do stop by and see what Gotham has to offer.

Quote for the Week: September

Here's John Updike on September. September in Houston is still pretty much like July and our leaves look like this because there's been no rain all summer, but I like to think of it this way:

"The breezes taste
Of apple peel.
The air is full
Of smells to feel-
Ripe fruit, old footballs,
Burning brush,
New books, erasers,
Chalk, and such.
The bee, his hive,
Well-honeyed hum,
And Mother cuts
Chrysanthemums.
Like plates washed clean
With suds, the days
Are polished with
A morning haze."
- John Updike, September

Award!

Thanks to Nancy MacMillan for this award. Check out Nancy at http://www.blogofavetswife.blogspot.com And now I'm passing on this award to the following 5 bloggers:

Jan http://www.connectere.wordpress.com

Suzi www.laundrylinedivine.com

Susan http://www.womannshadows.blogspot.com

Boo: http://www.boomayhew.blogspot.com

Maureen www.writingwithoutpaper.blogspot.com

Here are the rules for you five winners:

1. Thank the giver of the award and link back to them.
2. Give the Liebster Award to 5 bloggers and let them know with a comment to their blog.
3. Copy and paste the award onto your blog.
4. Enjoy the love of some of the most supportative people on the Internet.
5. Have fun blogging!

9/11/11: Remembering

It was an ordinary Tuesday. I woke a little late, so I was hurrying to get ready for work when Ralph came into the bedroom. He'd been working in his home office. His face stern, he strode to the TV. "You have to see this," he said.

"I don't have time; I'm running late."

"You have to watch," his said. His voice sounded strange, so I thought I'd humor him.

The TV clicked on. A New York skyscraper. Plane, fire, smoke. I dropped the shoes I'd been about to put on and stared. This couldn't be some special effects movie, it was real. "What's happening?" I asked.

"Someone's flown planes into the World Trade Center."

"An accident?"

"No." He sank down onto the bed. "Our lives will never be the same."

After a while, I couldn't watch any more. I went to work. At the preschool, parents were rushing in, grabbing their children and taking them home. Teachers were helping with backpacks and lunches. "Someone said they hit the Pentagon."

Who were "they?"

I decided to go back home. In the parking lot, I looked up. The sky was blue and cloudless, a beautiful September morning. But I didn't focus on that. I scanned for planes, listened for engine sounds, glanced fearfully at the buildings around me. I felt like a defenseless animal. What if the next plane headed to Houston?

At home, I called my business partner, then the office manager. We cancelled the rest of the day's appointments. Who would be interested in speech therapy on this day? I spent the rest of the morning in front of the television, mesmerized by scenes of carnage. How could this be happening in America?

Later that day Gayle, the office manager, and I picked up some Chinese food and brought it to a friend's house. Her husband was recuperating from surgery and we'd said we'd bring dinner. We sat together, stunned and confused, and tried to process the events of the day. We couldn't.

What is it about human beings that makes them do such evil things--bomb Pearl Harbor, invade Poland, assassinate a President? Why, when someone thinks differently or occupies a territory we want, do we resort to killing innocent people? Will we ever understand? Can we ever change?

Here's an eerie story from six months later. My partner came into my therapy room carrying a tiny blue plastic TV, part of a set of doll furniture we used with kids. "Look at this," she said and held up something we'd never noticed. The TV had a little picture pasted to the front: the Twin Towers.

I still use that set of furniture. Kids like to "turn on" the TV. And it still makes me feel creepy.

But it reminds me that we musst be vigilant so this never happens again. And that, somehow, people must learn to live and let live.

Quote for the Week...and questions it inspires

If no one knows you, then you are no one.
Dan Chaon

I found this quote at the beginning of One Amazing Thing by Chitra Divakaruni and have been pondering over its meaning. In the book, a group of people are trapped in the basement of a building after an earthquake and they spend the time telling stories about themselves.

I wonder if anyone really knows us. We show ourselves by our actions and we tell about our lives, our opinions, our thoughts, but do we ever reveal our inner selves? Don't we all carry secrets? Isn't there a secret self beneath the persona we show to the world? If you were trapped in a situation in which you might die or might be rescued and never see the people you were with again, would you tell your deepest, most personal truth?

The Ambassador of Grief and Whimsy

The Ambassador of Grief and Whimsy is actually a bunny. She belongs to Susan, who blogs at www.womannshadows.blogspot.com Bunny often acts as Susan's alter ego.


Like me, Susan is a widow and she has a loyal following of widows and widowers who read her blog regularly. Susan often said she wished she could visit her online friends, but that is impossible since they live in such far-flung places as Australia and England. Then she had a brainstorm: she would send Bunny in her place. Followers signed up to have Bunny visit them, and off she went around the world in what is now a well-used postage box. She has been to England, Australia, Alaska, Arizona, and most recently to me in Texas.



As soon as she arrived, in her adorable jeans, embroidered shirt and tiny backpack, I introduced Bunny to my cats. Needless to say, they were not interested in being friends, especially Toby after the night Bunny, wearing her little sleep mask, moved into his space on my bed.

Bunny was cuddly and comforting. Also helpful. She visited my speech therapy sessions and encouraged kids to talk. "She's traveling around the world, like Flat Stanley," I told one of my kids. "Wow," he said, "how does she do it?" I think he was a bit disappointed when I explained she traveled in a box from the post office.


Bunny and I took a trip to the Galleria, where she got a Don't Mess With Texas t-shirt (infant size).

Bunny has created a bond between the widows who have enjoyed her company. My thanks to Susan for her kindness in sharing Bunny with her on-line friends. You can also visit Bunny's Facebook page: look for abandoned souls.