Well ... yeh.
But it's not really THAT much of an experiment.
And I want to try it.
And I have to work on the cover anyway.
And I might like it.
And it might work really well.
So.
Yeh.
I'm experimenting again.
Everything's pretty much an experiment.
If it turns out, I'm going to be one happy woman.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
I Have About An Hour Of Usable Time After My Job Shift
Since I have only a few days to get the cover of Mamm of Perth done, tonight I'm going to use my hour to block in the figures of the Characters.
That ought to work out just about right, get me relaxed enough to get some rest; and it will be done!
IF I do this right, I'll use a couple of my usable before-shift hours tomorrow to do the sky-scape background. And THAT will be done.
Tomorrow's after-shift hours will be more flexible as I'll be heading into a set of days 'off'. All too often I'm so excited about not HAVING to go to bed by two in the morning (because I can sleep all day the next day if I want to, right?) that I stay up all night and then DO sleep the next day away - which more often than not is a BAD thing to do because it throws my schedule out of balance. But I keep on doing it anyhow, even though I know better.
I'm stupid that way.
With this deadline looming, I'm hoping to be smart enough to use my hours wisely for once, so the PLAN is to get base color coats onto the blocked figures tomorrow night for an hour or two after I get home and stop there for the night.
It will be a miracle if I manage to pull THAT off, but I'm going to give it my best shot BECAUSE ... I want a whole bunch of good solid consecutive hours where I'm not keeling with fatigue in which to start on the details.
So.
Can I do it?
Probably not, but I'm going to try.
That ought to work out just about right, get me relaxed enough to get some rest; and it will be done!
IF I do this right, I'll use a couple of my usable before-shift hours tomorrow to do the sky-scape background. And THAT will be done.
Tomorrow's after-shift hours will be more flexible as I'll be heading into a set of days 'off'. All too often I'm so excited about not HAVING to go to bed by two in the morning (because I can sleep all day the next day if I want to, right?) that I stay up all night and then DO sleep the next day away - which more often than not is a BAD thing to do because it throws my schedule out of balance. But I keep on doing it anyhow, even though I know better.
I'm stupid that way.
With this deadline looming, I'm hoping to be smart enough to use my hours wisely for once, so the PLAN is to get base color coats onto the blocked figures tomorrow night for an hour or two after I get home and stop there for the night.
It will be a miracle if I manage to pull THAT off, but I'm going to give it my best shot BECAUSE ... I want a whole bunch of good solid consecutive hours where I'm not keeling with fatigue in which to start on the details.
So.
Can I do it?
Probably not, but I'm going to try.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
WHOOOO-HOOOOO! WELCOME BACK!!!
Mamm
Speaks
Ahhh… yes.
This
is much better.
Danann Speaks
Well.
I have to say: it’s about time
Sidhelagh Speaks
Indeed.
This is much more comfortable.
Thank you.
Drustann Speaks
It feels like I’m just getting over a bad case of
laryngitis.
Finally.
Alianora Speaks
Not my original Voice, this, but it suits me better I think.
Dianann Speaks
Huh.
Sass becomes Dianann – at least I have my own Voice
back!
Whew!
Ostara
Speaks
Wow.
New name
AND new Voice.
Let’s
see if I like it.
Talorc Speaks
I’m pretty sure we’re all happy to have regained our Voices.
*chuckling*
You might want to consider the consequences.
Aine Speaks
Pretty fancy, I have to say.
Does that mean I have to talk like a fancy lady – because if it does …
well, I’m not going to.
Just sayin’.
Alann Speaks
Well hallelujah.
You do know, don’t you, what happens when you give us
Voices?
*Laughing riotously and poking Drustann in the ribs*
Little Merri Speaks
Hoo boy!
We’re BACK !!!
The Mother Speaks
Now you’ve done it.
The
Father Speaks
*deep
chuckle from above*
The
Son Speaks
How
come my Voice is so LITTLE?
It’s because you’re long-winded, sorry. You have a lot of
important things to say, and the words all have to fit onto the page. We’ll
call Yours the Still Small Voice within
us, each and all.
And
I have this to say:
Welcome
back!
Now
maybe we can get something DONE around here.
I Reckon I'd Better Plug In My Truck
I just checked the weather forecast.
No wonder Duke doesn't want to stay out there for long.
It's a good thing I have some wood left; I'm gonna be needing it.
No wonder Duke doesn't want to stay out there for long.
It's a good thing I have some wood left; I'm gonna be needing it.
WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE SO COLD?
Monday, February 24, 2014
If Ever I Can Read Aloud The Final Scene Of They Are My Song Without Breaking Down ...
I'm not sure I will ever be able to read certain selections of the books of the SONG series, either silently or aloud, without tears.
I think (maybe) I'm going to have to try to learn to 'step out of myself' and become detached enough to get through it. Whether or not I'll succeed is anyone's guess. Me, I'm not betting on it.
Still, if I'm going to do readings, the least I can do is give it my best shot.
Maybe if I read the hardest parts again and again and again it will eventually become easier.
Boy I sure hope so.
I think (maybe) I'm going to have to try to learn to 'step out of myself' and become detached enough to get through it. Whether or not I'll succeed is anyone's guess. Me, I'm not betting on it.
Still, if I'm going to do readings, the least I can do is give it my best shot.
Maybe if I read the hardest parts again and again and again it will eventually become easier.
Boy I sure hope so.
Publicity 101
I have a feeling that the ability to don any number of hats is likely to come in mighty handy for me.
As this thing progresses, I'm going to have to be author, sales-person, publicist, chauffeur, personal and business managers, marketing engineer, creator of accessories, and Sidhelagh.
Of all of the roles I'm going to have to take on, I think Sidhelagh is going to be the most useful.
Me, unless I've got a 'script' that I'm familiar with, I'm likely to go tongue-tied at the least opportune moment.
And yes, I know I can create and 'memorize a script' - and I know that I'm going to have to.
But ... until then?
Do the best I can with what I have to work with, I reckon.
I've written scores of things about my books - I wrote the bloody BOOKS for cryin' out loud - but writing's a lot different from speaking.
When somebody asks me what my books are about, I ought to just give them a basic story line.
The SONG stories ... they're all about individuals, a family, a community, a culture, threatened by circumstances beyond their control. The world is changing around them and they have to decide whether to change with it or not. In 487 AD the changes were related to Rome's 'usurping' of Christianity, transforming it, and battling on many fronts to establish its supremacy in its new form.
The Old Ways had to go, or be assimilated into the new religion.
The Keepers of the Old Ways, including the people of our stories, were at risk.
blah blah blah blah
The thing about people who ask questions is that they aren't going to be interested in ancient cultural events.
AND they want an answer in five words or less.
AND the words had better be of one syllable each.
pffffft
From now on I think I'll just go with listing the elements of the Song of the Trinity.
Choice
Creation, Life, Death, Eternity
Peace
Faith
Healing
Hope
Love
Unity
Those are more than five words, and some of them are of more than one syllable, but ... THEY ARE MY SONG says the Mother ... and so they are.
Here's what I think.
I think I'm going to have to do what I did back in high school when I had a speech to give: practice it out loud.
Poor Duke is liable to wonder if I've finally taken complete leave of my senses.
Well, no time like the present, right?
Right.
I'd better get darned good at this, I tell ya.
I might have to invest in another gadget or two if I'm gonna do this thing right.
*off I go to make a fool of myself in the privacy of my own study with only Duke as my audience
As this thing progresses, I'm going to have to be author, sales-person, publicist, chauffeur, personal and business managers, marketing engineer, creator of accessories, and Sidhelagh.
Of all of the roles I'm going to have to take on, I think Sidhelagh is going to be the most useful.
Me, unless I've got a 'script' that I'm familiar with, I'm likely to go tongue-tied at the least opportune moment.
And yes, I know I can create and 'memorize a script' - and I know that I'm going to have to.
But ... until then?
Do the best I can with what I have to work with, I reckon.
I've written scores of things about my books - I wrote the bloody BOOKS for cryin' out loud - but writing's a lot different from speaking.
When somebody asks me what my books are about, I ought to just give them a basic story line.
The SONG stories ... they're all about individuals, a family, a community, a culture, threatened by circumstances beyond their control. The world is changing around them and they have to decide whether to change with it or not. In 487 AD the changes were related to Rome's 'usurping' of Christianity, transforming it, and battling on many fronts to establish its supremacy in its new form.
The Old Ways had to go, or be assimilated into the new religion.
The Keepers of the Old Ways, including the people of our stories, were at risk.
blah blah blah blah
The thing about people who ask questions is that they aren't going to be interested in ancient cultural events.
AND they want an answer in five words or less.
AND the words had better be of one syllable each.
pffffft
From now on I think I'll just go with listing the elements of the Song of the Trinity.
Choice
Creation, Life, Death, Eternity
Peace
Faith
Healing
Hope
Love
Unity
Those are more than five words, and some of them are of more than one syllable, but ... THEY ARE MY SONG says the Mother ... and so they are.
Here's what I think.
I think I'm going to have to do what I did back in high school when I had a speech to give: practice it out loud.
Poor Duke is liable to wonder if I've finally taken complete leave of my senses.
Well, no time like the present, right?
Right.
I'd better get darned good at this, I tell ya.
I might have to invest in another gadget or two if I'm gonna do this thing right.
*off I go to make a fool of myself in the privacy of my own study with only Duke as my audience
Friday, February 21, 2014
Walking back into my part time job from 'my life'
Walking back into my part time job from 'my life', I remember ...
0ld familiar eyes lighting up in recognition;
old familiar hands, some gnarled with arthritis,
reaching out to grasp my hands,
touch my face,
hold my arm;
old familiar faces wreathing in smiles;
old familiar voices saying, 'Shiela!'
and 'It's so good to see you!'
and 'I love you.'
and 'We've missed you.'
And I say, 'I love you too,'
while I smile and reach out for their hands.
Some don't say a word
but their tired old eyes speak volumes
and their hand hugs are strong, tight, and prolonged.
I love my people,
all of them,
and they know it.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Well Golly Gee Whiz. A few more days of sub-zero temperatures coming up.
Imagine that.
I thought I was joking when I said I'd heard a rumor that it might get up above freezing by April Fool's Day.
O_O
I thought I was joking when I said I'd heard a rumor that it might get up above freezing by April Fool's Day.
O_O
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
OOOOOOH Yeah! Lovin' this new toy!
Okay, it's not really a toy.
It's a work tool.
But you know what?
I love it!
It's the little projector thing I've been wanting and needing for a long time and finally at long last HAVE!
I'm having a ball using it on the big painting I've got in the works - to get the figures placed right and sized right (sort of; I still have to work on MY skills) and the features just so.
This thing is amazing!
It's small and portable but packs a lot of power. I can move it as close as I want for detail work and back it up to get a 'big picture'.
I've got photo figures of a WIDE variety of sizes so it's nice to be able to scootch in to shrink the ones that are too big, and back up to enlarge the ones that are too small. I have to say I do NOT have the hang of it all quite yet but this rough draft painting gives me hope for the future!
I can connect it directly to my laptop (which is kind of funny, actually, because I'll forget it's connected and be doing something or other on my little screen - totally oblivious to the fact that it's all showing up on the BIG screen of the painting 'canvas' - and happen to catch it out of the corner of my eye and freak out) which is right handy because I can work on selecting, sizing, cropping, etc. and (assuming I'm paying attention) see the life-sized results as I go.
OR I can make my photo picks, put them onto a flash drive, and just use that - don't have to have anything else unless I want to!
It's helpful to have a genius for a nephew, I have to say. Kevin informed me that if I want to use this same grouping of figures with more background I can just take a photo of them, put up a new canvas, do the background, and project them onto the background at whatever size I want.
Good thing I just invested in a bunch of big 'canvases' because I can see where this could get to be one heck of a good time, playing with it all!
I know, I KNOW! I'm supposed to be creating book covers so Mamm of Perth and Mamm of Tarnos can get into print ... and I will, I promise!
Really.
I will.
But see the thing about THAT is that it sounds like work - THIS, on the other hand, definitely feels like playing.
Now I ask you: Can something that feels so very much like playing be WORK?
Heh.
Yeah. Yeah it can!
And that, my friend, is just plain flat out LOVELY!
It's a work tool.
But you know what?
I love it!
It's the little projector thing I've been wanting and needing for a long time and finally at long last HAVE!
I'm having a ball using it on the big painting I've got in the works - to get the figures placed right and sized right (sort of; I still have to work on MY skills) and the features just so.
This thing is amazing!
It's small and portable but packs a lot of power. I can move it as close as I want for detail work and back it up to get a 'big picture'.
I've got photo figures of a WIDE variety of sizes so it's nice to be able to scootch in to shrink the ones that are too big, and back up to enlarge the ones that are too small. I have to say I do NOT have the hang of it all quite yet but this rough draft painting gives me hope for the future!
I can connect it directly to my laptop (which is kind of funny, actually, because I'll forget it's connected and be doing something or other on my little screen - totally oblivious to the fact that it's all showing up on the BIG screen of the painting 'canvas' - and happen to catch it out of the corner of my eye and freak out) which is right handy because I can work on selecting, sizing, cropping, etc. and (assuming I'm paying attention) see the life-sized results as I go.
OR I can make my photo picks, put them onto a flash drive, and just use that - don't have to have anything else unless I want to!
It's helpful to have a genius for a nephew, I have to say. Kevin informed me that if I want to use this same grouping of figures with more background I can just take a photo of them, put up a new canvas, do the background, and project them onto the background at whatever size I want.
Good thing I just invested in a bunch of big 'canvases' because I can see where this could get to be one heck of a good time, playing with it all!
I know, I KNOW! I'm supposed to be creating book covers so Mamm of Perth and Mamm of Tarnos can get into print ... and I will, I promise!
Really.
I will.
But see the thing about THAT is that it sounds like work - THIS, on the other hand, definitely feels like playing.
Now I ask you: Can something that feels so very much like playing be WORK?
Heh.
Yeah. Yeah it can!
And that, my friend, is just plain flat out LOVELY!
FACES, I tell ya!
I love the dickens out of my people ... but every time I have to try to draw or paint their faces I suffer anxiety attacks.
This big painting I'm working on has a whole bunch of them and I'm pacing like crazy.
And so I tell myself, 'Self, all you can do is the best you can do. SO...
This big painting I'm working on has a whole bunch of them and I'm pacing like crazy.
And so I tell myself, 'Self, all you can do is the best you can do. SO...
JUST DO IT!'
While I'm At It ... Links for buying the books
In Print:
THEY ARE MY SONG (P4 Version=rough draft)
https://www.createspace.com/4522374
VICTOR VIGNETTES
https://www.createspace.com/4534174
SMALL TOWN USA
https://www.createspace.com/4676738
MAMM OF PERTH
Coming out in print mid-March 2014
MAMM OF TARNOS
Coming out in print mid-June 2014
On Kindle:
Go to Amazon.com: shiela branson
THEY ARE MY SONG
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
MAMM OF PERTH
MAMM OF TARNOS
SMALL TOWN USA
VICTOR VIGNETTES
The below is what I just copied and pasted from the Amazon site the above entry took me to. It's all of the Kindle versions of the books and prices listed as of right now (2/18/2014)
What the heck - scroll down - good grief - I'm sorry about that but don't know how to fix it.
sigh
"shiela branson"
Showing 6 Results |
They Are My Song: With Love From (Volume 1) by Shiela Branson (Nov 12, 2013)
- Order in the next 21 hours and get it by Thursday, Feb 20.
- $7.99 Kindle Purchase
- More Buying Choices - Paperback
- $7.41 new (7 offers)
- $10.93 used (1 offer)
- FREE Shipping on orders over $35
- Books: See all 6 items
Mamm of Perth: They Are My Song Book 2 by Shiela Branson (Jan 30, 2014)
- $7.99 Kindle Purchase
- Auto-delivered wirelessly
- Prime members read for free Join Amazon Prime
- Books: See all 6 items
Mamm of Tarnos: They Are My Song Book 3 by Shiela Branson (Jan 30, 2014)
- $7.99 Kindle Purchase
- Auto-delivered wirelessly
- Prime members read for free Join Amazon Prime
- Books: See all 6 items
The Story Behind the Story: A Journey of Mystic Proportions by Shiela Branson (Jan 29, 2014)
- $4.99 Kindle Purchase
- Auto-delivered wirelessly
- Prime members read for free Join Amazon Prime
- Books: See all 6 items
Small Town USA: It's All a Matter of Perspective by Shiela Branson (Feb 1, 2014)
- $2.99 Kindle Purchase
- Auto-delivered wirelessly
- Prime members read for free Join Amazon Prime
- Books: See all 6 items
Victor Vignettes: The times they are a-changin'. by Shiela Branson (Nov 19, 2013)
- Order in the next 21 hours and get it by Thursday, Feb 20.
- $4.99 Kindle Purchase
- More Buying Choices - Paperback
- $4.95 new (11 offers)
- $8.27 used (6 offers)
- FREE Shipping on orders over $35
- Books: See all 6 items
SMALL TOWN USA and THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
These two books are finally either available NOW on Amazon or soon will be - as soon as the process gets done.
SMALL TOWN USA
Go to the above link to order a print copy of SMALL TOWN USA.
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY is still 'in process' so will take a little longer.
Monday, February 17, 2014
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Before I Get Lost In The Artwork I Need To Get A Couple Of Books Into Print
'Small Town USA: It's All a Matter of Perspective' is ready for the final formatting touches so it can get printed, and so is 'The Story Behind the Story' re: 'They Are My Song' - and THAT one needs another bit added here and there as well, come to think of it.
The thing about SONG is that even STILL I run across things in my continuing research about things that just sort of popped themselves into that book - so the mystic stuff is on-going and will probably never stop. I can't put out new print versions of 'The Story Behind the Story' every time I want to add another bit, although the Kindle version might get periodic adjustments as new things turn up.
SONG has been 'different' from the outset; it's not designed to be 'an easy read'. The Characters make people laugh; they make them cry - but the most telling comments I've gotten are that they make people THINK.
But enough of SONG for the moment - it's constantly drawing me back into it (it'll do that: BEWARE) and I have other things to do for the time being.
It's kind of like having a dozen kids all clamoring for attention at the same time.
Onward.
The print formatting for these books, once I get the hang of it, isn't really all that HARD or even too very time-consuming - I just have to sit down and DO IT.
I have to say that doing the actual WRITING in files that are pre-set for sizing, fonts, page numbers, headers, and cover/blank pages helps tremendously. AND using spell-check ahead of time.
One of these days I'm going to get it perfect the first time out of the chute, but I'm not holding my breath on that.
But if I'm going to have print books for this spring and summer, I'd probably better get them PRINTED.
The thing about SONG is that even STILL I run across things in my continuing research about things that just sort of popped themselves into that book - so the mystic stuff is on-going and will probably never stop. I can't put out new print versions of 'The Story Behind the Story' every time I want to add another bit, although the Kindle version might get periodic adjustments as new things turn up.
SONG has been 'different' from the outset; it's not designed to be 'an easy read'. The Characters make people laugh; they make them cry - but the most telling comments I've gotten are that they make people THINK.
But enough of SONG for the moment - it's constantly drawing me back into it (it'll do that: BEWARE) and I have other things to do for the time being.
It's kind of like having a dozen kids all clamoring for attention at the same time.
Onward.
The print formatting for these books, once I get the hang of it, isn't really all that HARD or even too very time-consuming - I just have to sit down and DO IT.
I have to say that doing the actual WRITING in files that are pre-set for sizing, fonts, page numbers, headers, and cover/blank pages helps tremendously. AND using spell-check ahead of time.
One of these days I'm going to get it perfect the first time out of the chute, but I'm not holding my breath on that.
But if I'm going to have print books for this spring and summer, I'd probably better get them PRINTED.
That Piece of Equipment I've Been Waiting For Is HERE!
I am so excited I can't sit still!
I've been fairly aching to get back into the artwork - for SONG's re-do - but first for the print book covers for Mamm of Perth and Mamm of Tarnos so they can come out in print finally.
These paintings will be a variation on the original concept of this series - very large pieces of work - so I'm going to use a projector to get the backgrounds right and the figures placed before I put pencil or brush to canvas.
I saved and saved and then waited and waited (seems like it anyhow) FOREVER - and now it's HERE - sitting right over there - still in its box because I have to put in shifts at my part-time job today and tomorrow so can't DO anything with it until after that ... the suspense might just kill me.
No.
It isn't going to kill me.
But I tell ya - having to wait AGAIN is not a joyous thing.
The Mamms of Perth, Tarnos, and Iona, together with Alianora of Perth and the Warrior Twins Sass and Saille are going to be front and center, backed by Danann and Forr of Perth, Ethan of Tarnos, and TallUllin of Iona.
If I get ambitious and feel confident, Ordha and Rogue might join the people, you just never know! You KNOW they never want to be too far from Mamm and Ethan of Tarnos, so I might not have a choice in the matter. Those horses can get more than a little mule-headed.
While I've been seeing the Characters in my mind for a long time, it's going to be incredible to see them standing in my studio!
I've been fairly aching to get back into the artwork - for SONG's re-do - but first for the print book covers for Mamm of Perth and Mamm of Tarnos so they can come out in print finally.
These paintings will be a variation on the original concept of this series - very large pieces of work - so I'm going to use a projector to get the backgrounds right and the figures placed before I put pencil or brush to canvas.
I saved and saved and then waited and waited (seems like it anyhow) FOREVER - and now it's HERE - sitting right over there - still in its box because I have to put in shifts at my part-time job today and tomorrow so can't DO anything with it until after that ... the suspense might just kill me.
No.
It isn't going to kill me.
But I tell ya - having to wait AGAIN is not a joyous thing.
The Mamms of Perth, Tarnos, and Iona, together with Alianora of Perth and the Warrior Twins Sass and Saille are going to be front and center, backed by Danann and Forr of Perth, Ethan of Tarnos, and TallUllin of Iona.
If I get ambitious and feel confident, Ordha and Rogue might join the people, you just never know! You KNOW they never want to be too far from Mamm and Ethan of Tarnos, so I might not have a choice in the matter. Those horses can get more than a little mule-headed.
While I've been seeing the Characters in my mind for a long time, it's going to be incredible to see them standing in my studio!
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
I'm Too Sentimental
When people tell me that parts of my books have made them
cry, I have complete sympathy.
They make me cry, too.
Then again, they make me laugh – and hearing about others
who laugh makes me feel better about laughing at my Characters.
I’m sentimental about that whole lot of Characters, about
when and where they lived, about what they stand for in terms of the liberties
we take for granted today here in the United States where I live.
Sometimes I just wish I could meet them to shake their hands
and tell them, ‘Thank you.’ I reckon that will have to wait until the Roll is
Called Up Yonder.
My Characters are fictional, but they represent real people.
I can’t say that enough. And some of them were my ancestors, and maybe
yours.
So I know that When that Roll is Called Up Yonder, my
Characters won’t be waiting for me. BUT I have a feeling that maybe, just
maybe, the people they represent might recognize me and know the respect and
admiration I have for them.
Yes, I’m sentimental.
Hearing the Voices and the Songs that triggered this phenomenal
journey I’ve found myself on . . . I don’t
even try to stay the tears from filling, falling, coursing, dropping . . . they’re
homage paid to those Voices of today, whose Songs have taken me back and back
and back in time to find other Voices, another Song . . . and I wonder . . .
did those Voices of the Old Days realize their importance? Do they look at us
today and take pride in what they have wrought? Would they be pleased with what
we have wrought, in our turn, with the Legacy they lived and died to make sure
was ours?
I hope so.
Some of us are trying really hard to make it so.
Mamm of Perth : Print Version Coming In March!
Mamm of Perth, Book 2 of the They Are My Song series, now available on Kindle,will be coming out in print at Spring Equinox (March 20)!
Introduced in the first of the four 'Mamm Books', Mamm
of Perth is ancestor to Mamm of Dunnottar (whom we meet in They Are My Song). It is Mamm of Perth who makes the heirloom
under-bed storage chest, the travels of which these books follow.
Danann and Mamm of Perth, in the 200s AD, have a legacy
to pass on to their family.
While the under-bed storage chest that Mamm makes as a young
woman becomes a family heirloom, given into the keeping of each successive
generation, a more important legacy is at stake.
In the Song they Sing, their Voices sound forth loud and
clear the true Legacy of their Spirits.
Choice; Creation, Life, Death, Eternity; Peace; Faith; Healing;
Hope; Love; and Unity . . . these are the Legacy Danann and Mamm of Perth want
for their family , and the Voices rising in the Song dedicated to these values cannot
be silenced, not by fire nor by sword.
These are what bind this family together; these are what
bind their homeland together; these are what bind the peoples who share their
values together.
When the time comes to take their stand, stand they do, and
it is this Song which carries their legacy onward through the generations that
follow.
As Mamm of Dunnottar tells the story to the seventh generation, more than 200 years later, it becomes clear that the Song, cherished and fought for by Danann and Mamm
of Perth, have endured.
While the cost has been high, the sacrifices enormous, the
Song lives on in the lives of the descendants of those who Sang it so long ago.
Now more than 1500 years later, it lives on still; it will never be silenced.
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
SMALL TOWN USA IS LIVE ON KINDLE
Some few years ago I did feature articles for the Wells County Herald-Press (Eldredge Publishing) and just found most of them safely tucked away in my files. A few are missing, the ones I did on other people's computers, but most are there.
As I read them over, I realized that the collection shows a side of Wells County that we tend to take for granted, those of us who live and work here: these are good people, folks. People who care and people who DO.
I honestly thought I would be adding my bits and pieces as I went along, organizing them into book form - but found that the words already written - and most especially the people those words are about - speak for themselves.
Give it a gander and say hello to some of the most incredible people you will ever meet - and you can bet they'd be puzzled about that statement - they just do what they do all the time; it's nothing unusual.
But it IS. It's unusual, it's great, it's ... well ... it's Small Town USA.
Monday, February 3, 2014
(Introduction, etc.) SMALL TOWN USA: It's All a Matter of Perspective
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Small Town USA
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It’s All a Matter of Perspective
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Shiela Branson © 2014 All Rights Reserved
( Some material previously published by the Wells County Herald-Press, Eldredge Publishing, Harvey, Wells County, North Dakota; all content is the original work of Shiela Branson. )
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Here is about a year’s worth of feature articles I wrote for and about the small communities located in Wells County, North Dakota some time back (along with some other stuff). Small towns are busier than a person would think!
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SMALL TOWN USA
Here’s one that never made it out of my computer!
Written in 2008, it is a rebuttal to an article that had little good to say about North Dakota.
1/9/2008
I can’t speak for the state of North Dakota Wells County Fessenden
I read the recent article in National Geographic about this state, and it makes me grieve.
I grieve for the losses highlighted in the article; I grieve for the people of this state whose families have suffered; and I grieve that most people will never realize how very much more there is to this state than what is portrayed.
Living here, in Small Town USA
I can chuckle about the fact that my kids never bothered to lie to me about riding their bikes too fast on the other side of town, or pulling each other across the railroad tracks on their roller-blades – they knew darned well that by the time they got home I’d have already gotten at least one phone call informing me of their misdeeds.
Kids tend to not like the watchfulness of the community at large, but we parents appreciate it.
Now that my own children are grown, and I’m back in the state (again!) after several years of going back ‘out there’ to make a living, I’ve noticed that I’m not the only one who has thought that this is a good place to raise one’s kids. No, the kids don’t particularly appreciate it at the time (I didn’t and my own kids didn’t), but the employers of people brought up here in this state DO, and the kids do once they realize the value of what they’ve been given.
Where else can you watch the sun rise in peaceful serenity (sometimes it crests the horizon in blazes of colors no artist can hope to capture) and watch it go down in more power than you’d believe possible? Where can your children be under watchful eyes at all times and still be free? Where can you have people know exactly who you are and what you do, even after years of being away? The communication system in Small Town USA
The cost of living here is better than reasonable. The crime rate is low. The ratio of students to teachers is impressive and the educations received are excellent. Grand Forks Minot
We celebrate our seasons here in fine style. Winter is for catching pictures of the frost before the sun and wind take it away, riding snowmobiles (you know what a Poker Run is?), going to winter sports events, cutting our own trees for Christmas, baking and/or eating all sorts of awesome ethnic treats (okay, lutefisk is NOT awesome, but it’s traditional), producing snowmen and snow angels, ice fishing, and keeping an eye on the thermometer from inside a warm cozy home with a good book and a big cup of hot chocolate at hand. It’s for doing chores in the nastiest of weather, too.
Spring brings spring sports, outdoor activities, getting the gardens ready and seeded, watching the spring’s work proceed, getting used to the idea that we can go barefoot again if we want to, checking over the lawn mower to make sure it’s going to be able to handle the task of keeping all that thick rich green grass comfortable under our bare feet, and quietly recognizing the fact that each day’s sunshine is longer than the day before’s.
It’s also realizing that there will be farm equipment on the roads. Smile and wave – those guys are growing sustenance for you.
Summer is fishing, and chores, weeding the gardens, watching the flowers burst and the trees fill out, swimming at the river beach, doing outside jobs like roofing and fencing and painting, knowing where all the road construction projects are so you can plan your schedule accordingly, keeping an eye on the growing crops, hearing the buzz of aerial crop-dusters and seeing the ‘wingspans’ of terra-gators, sometimes spread across fields and sometimes folded as they poke along the roads (if you had a very small sports car you might be able to scoot beneath them, but I don’t think it’s a recommended practice), tanning with each hour you spend outside, watching the skies for developing weather patterns that might make you run for cover, cooking on the grill more often than inside, eating the first fruits of your garden produce and canning more of it for winter use.
It’s watching the young of spring as they grow and hearing the mourning doves lulling you to sleep after a full day.
It’s County Fairs and visiting with people and checking out the ribbons in the Women’s Building, eating caramel apples and foot long hot dogs and cotton candy.
Fall is harvest and hunting, still more fishing, putting up produce, apple pies with apples stolen from a neighbor’s tree (sorry, I’ll make you one this year and use my secret magic pie crust recipe) which is so full the limbs are almost breaking with the weight of the fruit.
It’s gathering chokecherries and making syrup because the juice will never jell right.
It’s the most awesome of all the awesome sunsets of the year, and the harvest moon.
Reading the papers, you’ll find that people are still getting together for ‘harvest bees’ to help farmers who are in need – rows of combines stripping fields in no time flat and people stepping up to the plate to give a helping hand where necessary. You’ll find out-pourings of local contributions loaded into trucks to head out to those who need that helping hand.
Granted, none of this is strictly local to this area – I’ve seen the entire country opening its arms to people in crisis, and it’s heart-stopping – but we do our share, and I would guess that on a per capita scale we rank right up there.
Yes, the weather can hit hard up here. It hits hard everywhere, and everywhere are people who struggle to survive it. We usually know what’s coming and can often prepare for the basic weather patterns. People have basements and know when to use them. We have emergency supplies on hand and can survive just about anything.
Yes, the population of the entire state could easily fit into a middle sized city. A lot of us kind of like it that way. But it’s growing; slowly, but growing, and we like THAT that way too. This is not a place for just anyone.
Yes, there are towns dying out every day. There were a LOT of them to begin with.
Yes, the population centers are in the few larger towns in the state. Most of the rest of the space is full of crops. A lot of us kind of like it that way.
And, for those who fight city traffic on a regular basis, we can get to a town a hundred miles away in the time it takes you to get to work every morning. With less headaches.
Yes, it’s hard to find high-paying jobs (or any job sometimes) in small towns around here. Then again, it doesn’t cost that much to live here. Computer-associated jobs can and are done from home these days; you don’t HAVE to live in the city where your ‘work’ is!
Yes, the wind blows almost all the time. It keeps the mosquitoes from killing us and the sun from roasting us, and the snow from piling up on us (although it does create drifts that stagger the mind – but that’s what snow-plows are for, and nobody in their right mind goes anywhere until the roads are clear anyway – and shoveling is good healthy exercise).
The wind is also a great natural resource that’s going to come into its own pretty soon. The very factor that caused so much depression and sorrow will bring succor to the survivors of those it destroyed.
Yes, there’s a shortage of non-school activities for youth. That’s a problem each community struggles with individually.
Yes, when it comes to things like domestic violence there are special problems involved with providing services.
I think we need people who are ready, willing, and able to put their backs into our communities. We need people who are strong enough to deal with the rurality of the state.
We need companies and corporations who are willing to look at us and notice that we’re strong and tough and smart and stubborn and self-sufficient – and see value – and figure out a way to put our strengths to good use.
I think that if you came to us with something viable to offer, we’d offer you in return our strengths. If you came to our communities with your own strengths to add to ours, we would share our assets with you and everyone would come out ahead.
Every community has homes that need families to restore them. It takes hard work and commitment, but the homes are here. If nobody comes to live in them, they will die, and more of our towns will be the ghost towns that outsiders come here to write about.
One thing I’ve noticed around here is that there’s a great deal of respect for those who work hard, who make an effort to do their best, and who are willing to pitch in when they’re needed.
Another thing I’ve noticed, in all honesty, is that there’s a level of questioning of those who come from the outside. Chances are it will be difficult if you want to ‘belong’ immediately in Small Town USA
Yes, North Dakota
Besides, we have the UND hockey team. A lot of us like that too.
What follows is a series of feature articles I wrote for the Wells County Herald-Press newspaper, presented as I actually wrote them and minus the editorial choices made about them before they were published.
I’ll no doubt add a few comments as I go along here, being as I’m pretty sure I’ll want to – so this is your fair warning in case I can’t control my propensity for gabbering about this, that, and the other thing.
Since it was spring-time when I started doing these feature articles for the local newspaper, our ‘year or so’ begins . . . in the spring.
A few of my articles are missing, including the very first one I did – on the Women’s Ag Banquet, which is really too bad because I really like that article.
The missing articles are missing mainly because I wrote them on other people’s computer systems and so don’t have the files available to me . . . and ain’t THAT just about par for my course, sigh.
Even so, there are more than a few remaining to provide a perhaps new perspective on life in Small Town USA.
If you have been under the impression that Small Town Life is dull and boring with nothing to do, read on my friend, READ ON!
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