A few weeks ago, Mrs. Jenkins, a teacher at Ottawa High School, invited me to speak to her class about what it means to be a writer. Completely flattered, I said yes and then spent the next few weeks wondering what I would say. Luckily for me, Mrs. Jenkins’ class developed a fantastic series of [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Stuff I’ve Learned’
15 Sep
Lessons from a Kansas graveyard: What a 1903 outbreak of diphtheria can teach us today
In a shady corner of St. Mary’s Cemetery, a curious collection of little headstones, all of the same size and age, surround a large hooded monument. Unassuming and unadorned, the large family headstone does not prepare you for what you will read. This little cemetery just south of Hartford, Kansas is the final resting place [...]
10 Jun
How I developed a healthy fear of giant mutant chiggers
I. Can’t. Stop. Thinking about it. Every time I almost push it out of my mind, that tiny pin prick of an insect bite begins to pulse, the itch radiating away from the center, until all I can think about it scrubbing it with my fingernails for ten measly seconds of relief. I. Hate. Chiggers. [...]
22 Feb
What I wasn’t looking for but found: WPA Federal Writers’ Project manuscripts
While searching for something completely unrelated, I found myself digging through the vertical files at the library. I can’t speak for all vertical files everywhere, but I have found three general truths about vertical files: They’re rarely indexed. They are almost never cross referenced. You have to understand the mindset of the person responsible for [...]
16 Apr
Scars upon the earth
Earlier this week, I found myself playing with Google Maps, tracing the path of the Santa Fe Trail across Kansas after studying several National Historic Register documents at the Kansas State Historical Society web site. Imagine my sense of wonder, as I scrolled along U.S. 54/400 past Dodge City, and saw this…
