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Author Archives: Silver in the Barn
Elbows Off The Table
“If your mother serves fried combat boot, you kids will eat it.” Thus ended any potential debate on the edibility factor of canned beets and succinctly describes the negotiation-free tone of my childhood. We were five kids who held … Continue reading
Posted in Random Ruminations
Tagged armybrat, dinner hour, family, family history, old school parenting, table manners
37 Comments
“When Books Went to War”
I read literature because I find traces of my private self within its pages. All my qualities -admirable and abundantly less so – are there, and in recognizing them I feel a lovely sense of relief that I’m not entirely … Continue reading
For Better or Worse…
His books, his booze, his Brooks Brothers shirts are all at home, but he is not. In their eighties, my once inseparable parents have been wrenched apart, physically anyway, by the disabling symptoms of Parkinson’s. Dad is in a veterans’ … Continue reading
Kyoto Syndrome
You’ve heard of “Paris Syndrome?” Often exhibited by the Japanese, it is a condition of anxiety bordering on hysteria upon realizing they have fallen prey to an extreme case of false advertising. Far from the romantic image portrayed in “An American in Paris” and … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Food, Travel
Tagged atomic bomb, cape cod, fences, henry s. stimson, japan, kyoto, paris syndrome, william morris
126 Comments
Leaving On A Jet Plane
Cue the Peter, Paul & Mary. Or better yet John Denver. He wrote the song, you know, even though we often associate it with the former. This hilariously dated hippie-dippie video is completely redeemed once John and Cass Elliot start singing. What glorious … Continue reading
Defending the Chamois
The extraterrestrial has moved from the gardener to the blogger. If the gardener baffled, the blogger bewilders. Once again the Human Ambassador is summoned. ET: Why is the blogger frustrated and unhappy? HA: She feels pressure to remove some favorite things from her writing. ET: … Continue reading
Posted in Humor, Random Ruminations
Tagged blogging, chamois, dumbing down, ian mcewan, wodehouse, writing
163 Comments
Just Say Yes
Five Photos, Five Stories #5 Saying “yes” is easy, I suppose, to the extrovert. Not so much for those of us of a more introverted nature. It’s not that we’re anti-social….exactly….but it takes more of an effort to mentally gear … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Challenges
Tagged blogging, extrovert, fiction, introvert, life lessons, Personal Principles
106 Comments
Turtle Update: Free At Last!
Five Photos, Five Stories #4 (only one more to go!) Challenge Rules: I am to post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem, or a … Continue reading
Snail Mail Silver
Five Photos, Five Stories #3 Challenge Rules: I am to post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem, or a short paragraph. When you have … Continue reading
Literary Kindred Spirits
Five Photos, Five Stories #2 Challenge Rules: I am to post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem, or a short paragraph. I am relentless when … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Challenges
Tagged fiction, margery sharp, nancy mitford, new york times, obituary, the innocents
78 Comments