Author: abbiejohnsontaylor

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New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

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Sixteen-year-old Natalie’s grandmother, suffering from dementia and confined to a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and rarely recognizes Natalie. But one Halloween night, she tells her a shocking secret that only she and Natalie’s mother know. Natalie is the product of a one-night stand between her mother, who is a college English teacher, and another professor.

After some research, Natalie learns that people with dementia often have vivid memories of past events. Still not wanting to believe what her grandmother has told her, she finds her biological father online. The resemblance between them is undeniable. Not knowing what else to do, she shows his photo and website to her parents.

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

Her younger sister, Sarah, senses their parents’ marital difficulties. At Thanksgiving, when she has an opportunity to see Santa Claus, she asks him to bring them together again. Can the jolly old elf grant her request?

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Green Lawn #WednesdayWords #Poetry #Inspiration

Green Lawn

As a child of five or six,

I watched Mother push the mower

back and forth across the grass.

Afterward, I ran, rolled, drank in the scent.

We moved to a succession of houses,

each with its own lawn,

graduated to a power mower.

As a teenager, my younger brother mowed the lawn.

“You missed this corner here,

that section there,” Mother said.

In my adult years, I use a lawn care service.

Every corner and section is neat

with not a blade of grass out of place.

***

Note: The above poem appears in the April 16th issue of The Weekly Avocet, which can be downloaded here. It was also published in Serendipity Poets Journal in 2013 and posted here last year. You can click below to hear me read it.

Green Lawn

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

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New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

Photo Resize and Description by

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

***

R is for Radio #TuesdayTidbit #Life’sAlphabet #Inspiration

In this digital age, I wonder how many people still use radios. I rarely do, now that I have a smart speaker that can play the stations to which I enjoy listening.

When I was growing up in Tucson, Arizona, during the 1960s, I had a transistor radio. I loved carrying it around the house, listening to my favorite popular songs, and occasionally calling in requests. When I was a little older, I discovered an easy listening station with some classical programming that I also liked.

That radio lasted until we moved to Sheridan, Wyoming, in the summer of 1973. We stayed with Grandma for a couple of months until we found a house of our own. I slept with Grandma and loved waking up to her radio each morning. She preferred news programming. At the age of twelve, I couldn’t understand why but soon learned from her the importance of knowing what was going on in the world.

After we were settled in a home of our own, I got a clock radio for Christmas. Because of my limited vision, although I could read the time on the digital display, I couldn’t set it or the alarm. But I enjoyed waking up each morning to the same news programming and listening to popular music.

When I was in high school, one of our AM stations started broadcasting old episodes of The Lone Ranger, The Shadow, and some comedy. An FM station broadcasted a mystery theater program. These helped me escape in a way television never did because no vision was required to know what was going on.

In college, my favorite shows were those containing count-downs of the most popular songs in a given week. When my clock radio finally quit working, I asked my parents for another radio for my birthday during the summer of 1984 and got a lot more. First, there was a receiver, then a cassette deck. For Christmas that year, I got a Cd player. It was more than I could ever have dreamed, and since many of my friends had stereos, I was elated. A year later, I lost interest in popular music when I discovered public radio and enjoyed news, classical music, jazz, and programs like A Prairie Home Companion.

Through the years, I continued listening to public radio. I still do today but not as much as I used to. I’ve re-kindled my interest in songs that were popular when I was growing up. While working, I often ask my smart speaker to play oldies stations. My favorite is Mushroom FM. I rarely use a radio now.

***

How about you? What do you remember about radios when you were growing up? Do you still use one today?

The above essay was also posted here in August of 2019. I’ve since revised it.

Thanks to beetleypete for inspiring my Life’s Alphabet series with a similar one he posted last December. Every day, he wrote about his life, using a consecutive letter of the alphabet. You can check out his blog here.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

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New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

Photo Resize and Description by

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

***

Me, a Muppet? #MondayMusings #OpenBookBlogHop #Inspiration

Welcome to another edition of Open Book Blog Hop. This week’s question is: “If you were a Muppet, what would you look like? Are you a person, monster, animal, something else?”

Okay, this is a ridiculous question, but here goes. I’d look like a person, a young woman to be exact, with long blonde hair cascading down my back and blue eyes that actually worked properly, so I could drive my own Muppet car and not depend on others for transportation like I do now. I’d wear a slinky blue dress, showing way too much cleavage, flesh-colored nylon stockings, and high-heeled white pumps. I’d probably attract more frogs, but I’d hold out for just the right Muppet partner.

How about you? If you were a Muppet, what would you look like? You can click here to participate in this week’s hop and read other responses.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

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New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

Photo Resize and Description by

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

***

Farm Tales: My Review of You Can Take the Girl from the Prairie by Darlene Foster #FantasticFridayReads #Memoir #Inspiration

What Amazon Says

A collection of short stories inspired by growing up on a prairie farm in the fifties and sixties. Some of the stories are humorous and others sad, but all heartfelt. Stories about family life, cowboy wisdom, immigrant grandmothers, an inspiring teacher, and the arrival of a new sibling are part of this collection of tales from another time and another place. Proof that you can take the girl from the prairie but you can’t take the prairie from the girl.

Buy from Amazon.

My 5-Star Review

Having been a fan of the Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder as a kid, I was intrigued when I read a review of this short, delightful collection. Although these stories aren’t exactly like Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books, they’re entertaining.

I couldn’t stop laughing when I read the author’s account of how her father chased a cow through city streets. Her story of how Canada’s prime minister did not stop and visit their town as expected reminded me of an episode of the TV sitcom MASH, in which patients and staff at the 4077th mobile army hospital anticipated a visit from actress Marilyn Monroe, who never showed up. The author’s tale of how she saw Santa Claus naked on Christmas Eve as an adult is my favorite.

Not all the stories are humorous. Darlene Foster tells of how the loss of a brother affected the family and touches on harsh winters and other hard times on the prairie. Her account of the teacher who changed her life moved me.

The photos with captions add a nice touch. This book is for anyone who enjoys heartwarming stories of family life and resilience in the face of adversity.

Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography

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New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me

Independently published with the help of DLD Books.

Photo Resize and Description by

Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.

***