News

The “N” Word–Nieces & Nephews

On June 30, 2009 / Uncategorized / 4 Comments

I have spouted off before about what a remarkable family I have, but I’m going to do it again because I just experienced another example of how this family pulls together and just does what needs to be done like a well-oiled machine. The launch party for my debut novel, The Advocate, took place last Saturday in Riverside, California. My sisters and

their offspring, my amazing nieces and nephews (this includes great, and great, great nieces and nephews), just pitched in and gave me one of the most memorable days of my life. Their help and their support were incredible. And once the party was rolling they all bought books, from the oldest to the youngest. I can’t tell you the number of times I had to write “To my favorite niece” or “my favorite nephew.” Yup, they all wanted the same inscription.

But there were a couple of exceptional purchases. The first was my three-year-old great-great niece, Meredith, who convinced her grandmother to buy her a book. When asked what she wanted the message to read. She said, “To Baby Amelia & Meredith” (Baby Amelia is her little sister. What a sweet, thoughtful, little girl.)

Later when my sister gave a last call for the books, her granddaughter, Allie (Alexandria) said, “I want one.” She’s four years old, but hey, her three-year-old cousin had one. Within minutes, Allie was walking through the remaining crowd and asking for forty cents. We have no idea where she came up with the forty-cent value of the book, but apparently she thought that was what it co

st. One of the older nephews conceded to give her a dollar. Then she brought it to me and asked to buy a book. What’s an auntie going to do? She wanted her book signed “To Alexandria” (too important, I guess, for Allie). Then her ten-year-old cousin got a dollar from his older brother and he wanted one. Another book went for a dollar…so though the cost of the book had diminished immensely by the end of the night, the experience had been greatly enriched.

Thank you all for making my launch party an experience I’ll never forget.

Auntie Tee

https://www.teresaburrell.com

The “M” Word–Michigan and Other “M” States

On June 16, 2009 / California, Echelon Press, Fang Face, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Norm Cowie, Printer's Row, The Advocate / 4 Comments

I just spent five days in Michigan with my nephew Chet and his family where I received the red carpet treatment and had a pleasant, restful time–a much needed break. After a fabulous weekend in Chicago at Printer’s Row Book Festival, Chet picked me up and drove me to Bay City. Michigan was beautiful, so many shades of green (as opposed to our southern California brown hills) and lots of spring flowers still in bloom. While I was there I researched an area where one of my characters will go in my next novel. It is a sequel to The Advocate. It’s so much easier to write about an area when you’ve actually been there. I was quite surprised how different things were from the aerial maps I saw online. My highlight in Michigan was passing through Paw Paw and seeing where Norm Cowie, author of Fang Face, went to high school (great book, by the way!)

When I started to write this blog I thought about how the “M” states had played an integral part in my life. In addition to Michigan I have a connection to most of the “M” states. Growing up in Minnesota I remember jumping rope to the Mississippi diddy: M-I-crooked letter, crooked letter-I-crooked letter, crooked letter-I-hump back, hump back-I. A good part of my family lives in Montana, so many that we chose to have our “Family Onion” there last year. My very dear friends live in Maine and I have the good fortune to visit there quite often (going again the end of next month). We had our last sister trip with all five sisters in Missouri (memories that will forever be dear to me). My publisher, Echelon Press, is located in Maryland. So that only leaves Massachusetts. Although I’ve been there several times, have some nice memories of Boston, but it’s the remaining state to develop a real connection. Any suggestions? Any of you connected to the “M” states?

https://www.teresaburrell.com

The “L” Word–Limbo

On June 2, 2009 / African, Caribbean, Chubby Checker, dance, Hawaii, heaven, hell, limbo, Limbo Rock, Trinidad / 2 Comments

Limbo—I’m talking about the dance, not the place somewhere between heaven and hell.

Do you remember the limbo? Are you too young? I remember being the limbo champ once in school. In all fairness, I think I had an advantage. Since I was only about four and a half feet tall, I was much closer to the ground than my fully grown friends.

For those of you who are not familiar with the dance, the dancer leans backward and moves to a Caribbean rhythm as he dances his way under a horizontal stick without touching it. If he touches it or falls backwards, he’s out. During a competition the dancers follow in a single line with the stick being gradually lowered each time through until only one dancer remains.

People often associate the dance with Hawaii, but it originated on the island of Trinidad. The name comes from the Trinidad/English dialect, “limba” meaning “to bend,” from the English “limber.”

Research indicates that in certain African beliefs the dance reflects the whole cycle of life. The dancers are moving under a pole and emerging on the other side representing the triumph of life over death.

And I bet you thought the limbo was just another dance. But then you probably received most of your limbo knowledge, like I did, from Chubby Checker and his “Limbo Rock.”

Do you have a limbo story? Please share.

Teresa

https://www.teresaburrell.com/

The “K” Word–Kantor

On May 21, 2009 / attorneys, cologne, drawing, Sabre, The Advocate / 2 Comments

Since most of my blogs have been about me, I thought I’d give you all a break and provide a little insight into my novel. So my “k” word is “Kantor,” the cologne Sabre’s brother, Ron, always wore in The Advocate. Here is an excerpt from the book, page 25:

She opened the office door. A familiar odor caught her attention–faint, but recognizable. Her brother’s favorite cologne, Kantor. It had been years since she had experienced the smell of his cologne, unsure if they even still made it. She would check with the other attorneys on Monday to see who in the building wore the cologne. She started to dismiss it when she noticed that her brother’s photo, on the credenza behind her desk, was facing the wall. She knew she hadn’t moved the photo.

No point in trying to find the cologne, it doesn’t exist except in The Advocate, again on page 181:

As she approached the spot where the stranger had been sitting, she smelled the familiar odor of Kantor cologne. Once again her heart skipped a beat. It was the only cologne Ron ever wore. The smell grew stronger the closer she came to where the man had been seated. She peered around, but he seemed to be gone. She watched as she walked to her car, but no further evidence of him, nor the smell, presented itself. More paranoia?

I guess you’ll have to read the book to see where the smell of Kantor is coming from. If you haven’t done it already, you can click here to enter the drawing to win a free, autographed copy of The Advocate.

The “J” word–Juggle

On May 16, 2009 / cognac, Comedy Club, Elvis, juggle, juggler, jugular, Loui the XIII, Presley, Robin Williams, The Advocate / 4 Comments

Can you juggle? Years ago I learned to keep three balls in the air for a while, but I never worked at it hard enough to master it.

On the other hand, like the rest of you, I’ve been juggling things all my life. In college, I juggled schoolwork, a job, the party scene, and managed to get through it without destroying my grade point average. I juggled bills, spending money, and rides for lack of parking. I even went through a period in my life where I was pretty adept at juggling men.

And then there’s the jugular vein (which has nothing to do with the word I started with, but sounds close enough and it does start with “j”). When I was teaching sixth grade, I had a student (yes, a sixth grader—and that wasn’t half as bad as the one with the gun a couple of years later.) come at my jugular vein with a knife. I guess you don’t need to ask why I changed from teaching to law.

So, I’ve juggled many things, survived an attack to the jugular, and even dated a juggler for a few years. Most of my friends probably couldn’t tell you his name. He was simply “The Juggler.” The relationship was an adventure. You can’t imagine the places a juggler can get you into. We stayed in Elvis Presley’s Palm Springs home (long after Elvis was gone), had a shot of Louis the XIII Cognac with some producer in Hollywood (at $100 a shot—totally lost on me), and hung out with Robin Williams at the Comedy Club for hours after it had closed. The juggler, nine years younger than me, had a maturity level at least ten years less than that. But then, what did I expect? After all, I was dating a man who played with his balls for a living.

What do you have the most trouble juggling? Or the most fun?

https://www.teresaburrell.com

The “I” Word–Impossible

On May 13, 2009 / American Idol, athlete, Black Gazelle, football, gold medals, handicap, impossible, Notre Dame, Olympic, pneumonia, polio, Rudy, Rudy Ruettiger, running, scarlet fever, Wilma Rudolph / 4 Comments

Growing up I never really thought much about things being “impossible.” As I’ve said before, I went through life doing things because I didn’t know I couldn’t. My sisters function the same way. They’ve all set fine examples for me; none of them know the meaning of impossible.

We’ve all heard of the athlete with a handicap who does the “impossible.” Just about everyone knows about 5’ 7” Rudy Ruettiger who played football for Notre Dame. Or Wilma Rudolph, who became known as “The Black Gazelle.” She overcame polio, scarlet fever, and double pneumonia only to go on to set running records and win Olympic gold medals.

But it’s the little things you do everyday that lead to mastery and eventually overcomes the impossible. Writing that extra paragraph, doing that extra set of exercises, making one more phone call, working that extra hour, saving that extra dollar, stuffing one more envelope…it doesn’t matter what goal you’re trying to reach, it’s the little “impossibilities” that ultimately make you a winner.

So, I think I’ll go eat that extra piece of chocolate and try out for American Idol. Ok, so there are limits, but most of them are in your mind.

I’m a little “Fertile” girl who went on to write a novel, The Advocate, and actually got it published. Who’d ever thought that was possible?

What “impossible” thing have you achieved?

https://www.teresaburrell.com

The “H” Word–Hitchhiking

On May 5, 2009 / adventure, Amsterdam, Catholic, Europe, Germany, guilt, hitchhike, hostels, Italian, Mona Lisa, roller coaster / 3 Comments

When I was young and very foolish, I spent three months in Europe hitchhiking around the country and sleeping in youth hostels. What an incredible way to see a country. I met so many wonderful people and had unbelievable experiences. I was twenty years old and my traveling companion, Michele, was about the same. We spent the entire summer traveling from one country to another. We started in Amsterdam, met up with old friends from home in Germany, saw the Mona Lisa in France, had a scare in Spain, danced through Italy, stayed in a haunted hostel in Wales, met new relatives in Ireland, and had other great adventures in Switzerland, Austria, England, and Lichtenstein. We met fellow travelers from all over the world and locals that often gave us housing and superb hospitality.

In those days, they didn’t have our fast food restaurants and it was impossible to find a good hamburger. We were very young and although we liked most of the food, we didn’t appreciate it as we may have had we been a little older. We were starved for good old American food. We finally found an import store. We sat outside on the steps for almost two hours until it opened. Once inside, we paid about five times the amount we would have at home for a jar of peanut butter. We thought we had died and gone to heaven. We would buy fresh loaves of bread in the bakeries and fruit from the stands on the streets and ate fruit and peanut butter sandwiches for about a week…until our peanut butter was gone.

Hitchhiking was the best way to travel back then. I was a college student at the time, and a bit of a hippie…not the real thing…I had too much “Catholic guilt” to get into the free love thing and the drug scene didn’t appeal to me. So, with my hair in braids and my loose outfits, I was sort of a hippie wannabe. I did hippie things, like: travel with just a single bag pack all summer, wash my clothes by hand in cold water and hang them out to dry, took cold showers (ok, so I had no other options), go barefoot or wear sandals, and of course, hitchhike.

We hitchhiked from city to city and then took the bus system around to see the sites, except in Italy. There we even hitchhiked in the city because the Italian men were so eager to give us rides. And yes, they do (or did then) pinch your bottom when you walked down the streets, just like in the old movies.

Hitchhike, a word my mother never quite forgave me for. She didn’t know until I got home what my mode of travel had been. She would have been so worried, and rightly so, but I know she also admired my sense of adventure. Now, I’m older and much wiser and will no longer even take a ride on a roller coaster, much less with a stranger. So now when I get the urge to put on jeans and a sweatshirt and hitchhike down the highway, I know I’m only dreaming of a time gone by.

Have you ever hitchhiked? Or picked up a hitchhiker? Please share your story.

The “G” Word–Geneology

On April 29, 2009 / ancestors, family tree, Fertile, Genealogy, genealogy research, Godfrey Township, graves, graveyard / 10 Comments

Have you researched your genealogy? It can be great fun. I started the process about ten years ago, or more. I was able to research my mother’s side of the family back to the twelve hundreds. I found some very interesting stories along the way. I also met a group of relatives that I would’ve never met if I hadn’t been looking for information.

I returned to Fertile, MN and discovered a graveyard from the 1800’s that belonged entirely to our clan except for about six graves that were from one other family. The graveyard was off the beaten path in the woods hidden from the public. It contained the graves of my great grandparents, and my great, great grandparents and gaggles of great aunts and uncles. All those original “Fertile families” were “gi-normous.” My great-grandfather was one of eighteen. His folks came from Canada to the valley along with three other families nearly as large. They arrived there too late to get their homes built before winter settled in, so that first winter they had to dig holes in the hills and live underground until the snows passed. They initially called the area Godfrey Township. It was sometime later when my brilliant ancestors changed the name to Fertile.

I also discovered other interesting things, like the first cousins that married each other, making some parts of my family tree a “pole” instead of a tree.

Have you researched your genealogy? Any interesting stories you’d care to share?

www.teresaburrell.com

The F-Word–Family

On April 24, 2009 / Uncategorized / 2 Comments

I have the best family in the world, not the sanest, but by far the most loving. There were nine of us born to Forest and Clara in a little town in Minnesota called Fertile. (I’m not kidding.)

When my family celebrates, we feast, the Easter function at my sister’s house this year had over one hundred folks there. I counted one-hundred-four family members and friends and tables full of food.

When there’s an illness, not just the hearts reach out, but the bodies too. When my eldest sister was on her deathbed, every one of my brothers and sisters came to support one another. They came from Montana, Idaho, and different parts of California. We all huddled together in the hospital waiting room for five days. And when Sissy passed away we were all together circled around her bedside fingers entwined.

When there’s work to be done, they all pitch in. When someone has a dream they all encourage it. When someone gets married, graduates, is released from jail (I never claimed perfection), signs a book contract like “The Advocate,” or gets a job, no matter how big or small the event, this family cares and supports. That’s not to say we don’t fuss at one another. We have our share of feuds and fights, but eventually the love always overcomes.

We are one big, and I do mean big (at last count, I had one-hundred-fourteen nieces and nephews, that includes great-nieces and nephews), happy (most of the time) family—now that’s a Fertile family!

The E Word–Exercise…Ewww

On April 21, 2009 / abdominal, abs, exercise, gripper, money, squats, stairs, stomach, stretch, time, walks / 4 Comments

Eleven (it’s an e-word day) ways to exercise without spending money or time.

1. While you’re brushing your teeth, do a few squats…slowly, so the toothpaste isn’t splattered everywhere.

2. While sitting at the table eating breakfast clench those buttocks together, hold it for about two seconds, and then release. Keep doing it throughout breakfast (lunch or dinner) and it won’t be long before you’ll have a firmer butt. If breakfast and butt doesn’t sound that appealing to you, then do it while you’re sitting at your desk. Your rear end doesn’t have to get enormous just because you’re sitting on it all day.

3. You all know to take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator, or at the very least walk up and down that escalator. And pick up your speed when you do need to walk somewhere. You’ll get it done earlier and burn a calorie or two.

4. There are lots of things you can do while sitting at your desk. Extend your legs out in front of you and stretch those calves. It’s good to stretch those muscles and helps prevent blood clots as well.

5. You can do leg lifts from your desk, too. Start with one leg, then the other, then both. Start slow and add a few each week. This can be an effective abdominal exercise.

6. Stretch (not roll) your neck from side to side and forward and backward. Also, look right, and left.

7. If you expend a lot of time typing, roll your wrists. This can help prevent carpal tunnel. Roll your ankles as well. This can help with circulation.

8. Suck in your stomach, hold for a few seconds, then release. Repeat this as often as you can think to do it. After a while it will become a habit and you will have firmer stomach muscles.

9. Open your arms straight out, pull your shoulders back, and rotate your wrists (thumbs going up and back). Good stretch.

10. Keep a hand gripper around your house. Pick it up when you walk by and use it. It works your hands as well as your forearms.

11. After work, and you’ve eaten your dinner (sucking in those buttocks while you ate), and it’s time to relax in front of the television, get a large size stability ball and sit on it with back and abs held firm. Sit, bounce, and do basic exercise on it while you watch the “boob tube.”

Now this isn’t meant to replace regular exercise, but those of us who can’t seem to make it to the gym at all, or on those days when we can’t take those long walks, this is way better than nothing.

https://www.teresaburrell.com