Cat Makes a New Friend

I just thought this was too cute!

Kreativ Blogger, or Annette, I Thought You Were My Friend!

My good friend, Annette Dashofy has passed a Kreativ Blogger Award on to me. Annette is a fantastic writer, an excellent roommate at conferences, and just an all-around terrific person. Be sure to check out her blog today--there's a really cute photo posted. Although Annette may have had an ulterior motive in nominating me (to get me to actually write a blog post!) I thank her anyway!

The rules for accepting the award are simple:

1) Copy the pretty picture and post it on your blog.
2) Thank the person that gave it to you and link to their blog.
3) Write 7 things about yourself we don't know.
4) Choose 7 other bloggers to pass the award to.
5) Link to those 7 other bloggers.
6) Notify your 7 bloggers.

I got one and two out of the way. I'm not sure anyone really wants to know 7 things about me, but here goes.

1. I'll be married 30 years in August 2010. (Yes, I'm REALLY old.)
2. I won a lot of spelling bees in grade school.
3. When my cousin, Debbi, and I were about 13, we'd go around talking in a British accent. (I have no idea why.)
4. I used to play guitar.
5. When I was a "wee tot" I had an imaginary friend named "Sac Lac." Don't ask. I don't know.
6. I love Big Band music.
7. When my kids played dekhockey, I scored two goals in the kids vs. parents game. (I even had my own hockey stick with hot pink tape on the handle.)

Wow. It was hard coming up with those! Now for my blogger nominees.

The Graveyard Shift. Former cop and all-around good guy, Lee Lofland, tries his best to keep all of us writers on the straight and narrow. Just don't say the word "cordite" around him.

The Kill Zone. TKZ is a group blog featuring Clare Langley-Hawthorne, Kathryn Lilley, Joe Moore, Michelle Gagnon, John Gilstrap, John Ramsey Miller, and James Scott Bell. Most of the time, the topics are writing related but even when they're not, I always learn something new.

Poe's Deadly Daughters, another group blog. This one features mystery writers Sandra Parshall, Julia Buckley, Darlene Ryan, Sharon Wildwind, Lonnie Cruse, and Elizabeth Zelvin. An excellent place to hang out!

That's Church. This blog is written by Virginia Montanez, formerly the anonymous Pitt Girl. Ginny writes about anything and everything that has to do with Pittsburgh. Sometimes rude, sometimes crude, but always hilarious.

I'm going to mention the last three blogs, but not notify the recipients. I'd hate to clog up their inboxes when they should be strictly for the queries of struggling writers. I'd hate for some poor writer's query to bounce because I sent a Kreativ blogger award notice and the mailbox was full. Hey, just trying to do my part for writers everywhere.

The final three:

Janet Reid, Literary Agent. I love, love, love Janet Reid. I only wish I could entice her to see the error of her ways and take me on as a client.

Bookends, LLC--A Literary Agency. Jessica Faust always has something worthwhile to say about writers and the publishing industry.

Nathan Bransford - Literary Agent. Nathan always has good advice. And usually hundreds of comments. 

So, that's it. Go check out those blogs!

One More Reason...

...why the local library closures MUST not happen!

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/s_650812.html

A Small Miracle

If you live in the Pittsburgh area you may have heard about this story already. I first became aware of Kelly Frey when I read this article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on August 26th. I'd seen her before on TV--she's a reporter for local station WTAE, but never paid all that much attention. She was just another on-air personality. Pretty. Did an adequate job. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Boy, was I wrong.

Kelly Frey and her husband, Jason have to be two of the most remarkable people I've read about lately. Earlier this week, their first child, Bennett was born. While this is an ordinary occurrence for many people, for Kelly and Jason it was much more. Before he was born, they knew there was a good chance that Bennett would never take a breath, let alone cry.

During a routine ultrasound at 12 weeks, Kelly and Jason found out that Bennett had holoprosencephaly, a severe defect where spinal fluid takes the place of some brain tissue. Some babies with the defect lack enough brain tissue to even take a breath.

Bennett was born this week. And he was able to breathe on his own. He cried. He yawned.

As I write this, there hasn't been any more information released on Bennett's current condition. I'm praying for a miracle. And so are many, many others.

An organization called Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep has documented Kelly and Jason's story in photographs. Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep Foundation provides beautiful photos at no cost to parents who are facing the death of their child. They feel that the service not only gives grief-stricken parents concrete memories of their child, but helps with the healing process.

Here is a link to Kelly, Jason, and Bennett's photos. Be warned--have lots of tissues handy.

Keep little Bennett in your prayers. And if you don't pray, this might be a good time to start. The world could use a few more miracles.

Just Because

I'm posting this just because. Chanel sounds like she was really cool.

What? Okay. My cat, Layla, said I should add "for a dog" to that sentence.

Chanel was really cool--for a dog.

Here's the article:

World's Oldest Dog Dies at age 21--or 147.

Battlefield Preservation

Here's one more reason why battlefield preservation is an important issue:

Orange County Supervisors Approve Wal-Mart Superstore on Wilderness Battlefield.

To learn about the Wilderness, click here.

Gettysburg!

I planned on posting this last week for the 146th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, but I was derailed by a computer virus that wouldn't go away. Actually, I kept getting rid of it, but it would keep coming back. I finally reformatted my hard drive and started over. (Which I don't recommend doing unless you don't have anything better to do for about three days.)

But I digress.

Hubby and I managed to get to Gettysburg at the end of June for a couple of days. There is so much to see there, we could have used a week. We were able to squeeze in a two hour long Battle Walk with historian Scott Hartwig on part of the first day's battle. It was hot and humid, with a little bit of rain thrown in, which made it even hotter. It made me appreciate what the soldiers must have gone through. They were there a lot longer than two hours--and wore wool uniforms!

The new visitor center at the battlefield is wonderful. I could spend days in the museum alone. And the restored Cyclorama painting is spectacular. I took a few photos (no flash allowed), but they don't do it justice. I'm not going to post them. You really have to see it in person.

One thing that disappointed me was that one of the best restaurants there was now gone. I really liked The Gingerbread Man and it's now a sports bar. Tell me. Do we really need another sports bar? Fortunately, there are several other great restaurants. We went to The Pub instead. It was excellent. They have really, really good French Fries.

It was a great trip but next time I think we need a few more days.

My first born suggested that I post the article I wrote way back in 1994 about our trip to Gettysburg. It was our first trip there with the kids, and also my first published article. It appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in September 1994. Take into account that this was written fifteen years ago, so much of it is outdated. It's a nice trip down memory lane, though, especially since my boys are now 25 and 21. Sigh. I've also resisted the urge to edit it, so here it is.

1863 Battle of Gettysburg Just a 4-Hour Car Ride Away

Even though the roads are filled with cars and hundreds of people are walking around, an eerie stillness lies over the battlefields at Gettysburg. As I listened to the park ranger explain the details of the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, I could almost hear the thunder of cannon fire and the rebel yells of the 12,000 Confederate soldiers charging toward the small thicket of trees beside us.

Ten-year-old Andrew sat with me and listened intently while my husband watched Josh, our 6-year-old, hunt for "bullets." A few minutes later, Josh ran over and whispered, "Look, I found a bullet!"

I didn't have the heart to tell him that it was only some kind of a seed or a nut that fell off one of the trees. To 6-year-olds, bullets and cannons are the best things about Gettysburg.

When my husband and I first thought of going to Gettysburg for vacation, we weren't sure what the kids would think. We were pleasantly surprised that they liked the idea. Andy likes anything historical and Josh likes whatever Andy likes--this year, anyway.

Gettysburg is only four hours from Pittsburgh, which is just long enough with two active boys in the back seat. We arrived at our hotel, the historic Gettysburg Hotel, built in 1790, before either one of them did any major damage to each other or to the minivan.

Over the next few days, we did all the usual tourist things, like visit the wax museum and the souvenir shops. The kids each bought a kepi, the cap that most of the soldiers wore. Andy bought Union blue, while Josh, always the rebel, had to get the gray.

The gray cap came in handy once when my husband was waiting to cross the street with Josh. A car stopped and the driver waved for them to cross. Jerry waved a thanks to him and the driver called out in a southern accent, "He's wearing the right hat!" Jerry figured it wouldn't be a good time to tell him he's really a Yankee.

The best way to tour the battlefield, especially with kids, is to buy or rent a cassette tape to play in your car. It rents for about $11, and sells for $13. We bought a tape and Andy has even listened to it since we've been home. The tape directs you to the different battle sites and monuments and comes complete with sound effects.

You also can ride on a tour bus or take a battlefield guide in your car. We didn't like the idea of a crowded bus and I think the Park Service requires you to return their guides alive at the end of the tour, so that wasn't an option with two kids. Also, with the tape, you can stop when and where you want. We spent more time on Little Round Top and at Devil's Den so the kids could play on the rocks, than we would have on a tour.

The Park Service also offers "Ranger Walks." We went to one at dusk at the amphitheater in the woods. The ranger explained how photographs were taken back in the 1860s. The next day, we also went on a 40-minute walk where the ranger detailed the third day of battle, known as Pickett's Charge. Andy can now explain the details of the battle to anyone, whether they want to know or not. At least he should ace his test on the Civil War in fifth-grade American history.

Another highlight of the trip for the kids was the "Ghosts of Gettysburg Walking Tour." At dark, one of the students from Gettysburg College takes a group of people (at $6 a head) for a walk through the town and the college and tells stories of ghosts that are supposed to haunt the area. In one story, our guide described how the ghost of a woman walks the campus at night, looking for her lover. Apparently, she and her boyfriend were to jump from the tower at the same time. She jumped--he didn't. Figures.

A few days after we came home, we watched the movie "Gettysburg" that I had taped before vacation. The kids really liked seeing what had happened at the places they had just seen. Josh was fascinated with Col. Joshua Chamberlain, who saved Little Round Top from the Confederates, I think because they share the same first name.

It was a good experience for them. A lot of times, we think that children are bored with anything educational, when, in fact, the opposite is true. It just depends on the way it is presented to them. They even want to return to Gettysburg to see one of the reenactments that they have every July. Maybe they'll even be one of the reenactors someday. Right now, as I write this, I can hear Josh outside yelling, "Charge!" He's Col. Joshua Chamberlain, leading a bayonet charge down the slopes of Little Round Top.

For the record, Andy is now a historian and still explains the details of the battle to anyone, whether they want to hear it or not. And Josh is still a rebel--he does brain/memory research in a lab at Pitt. He no longer goes charging down hills, unless it's down to Forbes Avenue in Oakland (PA) and he's heading to Caribou Coffee.

Here's a few more photos, too.

Cemetery Hill

On Little Round Top

McPherson Barn

On McPherson Ridge

Railroad Cut (where the first victim is found in Buried Lies)