Sandy Powers's Blog
April 25, 2011
5 star Review by Sandy Sanchez
Moving Tribute to a Mom, April 25, 2011
By
Sandy Sanchez - See all my reviews
This review is from: Passage (Kindle Edition)
Passage by Sandy Powers (author of Organic for Health) is a quick read and gets right down to a story that will move the reader in many ways. Expect tears by page two.
The book opens as the author brings her mother home from the hospital, there to die. After her mother's death, she discovers her mother's journals along with letters, news articles and historical documents in boxes her mother had left for her children. The journals are corroborated by the newspaper articles and enhanced by the letters and tell stories of astonishing drama. The author adds no embellishment whatsoever but allows her mother to tell the story of her tragic childhood in straight forward, matter of fact language. Rather than dwell on her sad past, this strong woman focuses on the best part of her life: the love she finds and maintains with her husband. She describes their meeting and the "love at first sight" attraction in the same matter of fact language she uses to describe her stepmother's abuse. Clearly this was a woman who took life's ups and downs in her stride and did what she needed to "get it done" whatever the job at hand might be. This love that she shares with her husband is stronger than the sad losses of childhood and gives her the strength and confidence to bring five children of her own into the world. It also gives her the strength and courage to conquer cancer in the early fifties when treatment was more experimental than it is today. Her response to her cancer diagnosis is representative of her response to life generally: she tells her doctor that with a husband and five children "dying is not an option". Ultimately cancer returns to claim her life but not until she has raised the children to adulthood and spent what I calculate must be close to seventy years with the love of her life.
I won't spoil the impact of the amazing events she writes about in her journals by describing the unusual details of her life but do highly recommend that the reader discover them by reading this brief and fascinating book. I'll just whisper the words "murder", "war"and "spy" and you begin to get the picture. I don't know if the author has plans to write about her own memories of a life with her amazing mother but I for one would be most interested in reading it. Grace Balogh was definitely a woman worth knowing. Congratulations to her daughter for putting together this tribute.
By
Sandy Sanchez - See all my reviews
This review is from: Passage (Kindle Edition)
Passage by Sandy Powers (author of Organic for Health) is a quick read and gets right down to a story that will move the reader in many ways. Expect tears by page two.
The book opens as the author brings her mother home from the hospital, there to die. After her mother's death, she discovers her mother's journals along with letters, news articles and historical documents in boxes her mother had left for her children. The journals are corroborated by the newspaper articles and enhanced by the letters and tell stories of astonishing drama. The author adds no embellishment whatsoever but allows her mother to tell the story of her tragic childhood in straight forward, matter of fact language. Rather than dwell on her sad past, this strong woman focuses on the best part of her life: the love she finds and maintains with her husband. She describes their meeting and the "love at first sight" attraction in the same matter of fact language she uses to describe her stepmother's abuse. Clearly this was a woman who took life's ups and downs in her stride and did what she needed to "get it done" whatever the job at hand might be. This love that she shares with her husband is stronger than the sad losses of childhood and gives her the strength and confidence to bring five children of her own into the world. It also gives her the strength and courage to conquer cancer in the early fifties when treatment was more experimental than it is today. Her response to her cancer diagnosis is representative of her response to life generally: she tells her doctor that with a husband and five children "dying is not an option". Ultimately cancer returns to claim her life but not until she has raised the children to adulthood and spent what I calculate must be close to seventy years with the love of her life.
I won't spoil the impact of the amazing events she writes about in her journals by describing the unusual details of her life but do highly recommend that the reader discover them by reading this brief and fascinating book. I'll just whisper the words "murder", "war"and "spy" and you begin to get the picture. I don't know if the author has plans to write about her own memories of a life with her amazing mother but I for one would be most interested in reading it. Grace Balogh was definitely a woman worth knowing. Congratulations to her daughter for putting together this tribute.
April 23, 2011
radio interview
listen now to interview with Sandy Powers and book, "Passage."
http://www.internetradiopros.com/book...
http://www.internetradiopros.com/book...
April 22, 2011
The Easter Ducks
The Easter Ducks
by Sandy Powers
Bill and Debbie had a half acre pond in the back of their house in Blaine, Minnesota. One year Debbie had a great idea for an Easter gift for the kids: baby ducklings. When the ducklings were big enough, she reasoned, they’d live in the pond and everyone would enjoy watching them. Why not? So, Bill and Debbie bought three baby ducklings for Easter. Because Minnesota is known for its cold Spring weather, the baby ducklings were kept in the kids’ filled swimming pool in the basement with a heat lamp shinning on the ducklings and water. By the time Summer arrived, the three ducklings were large enough for the pond. All summer long, they swam and walked in the yard, eating the kernels of corn Bill, Debbie and kids scattered on the grass. Before long, the ducklings became two hens and a drake.
Autumn came and off flew the ducks to warmer places. The kids cried. Bill tried to reassure them that the ducks may return in late Spring. Sure enough with the flowers blooming in Mid-May, the ducks returned to the pond. But this time they brought a few friends. Ten ducks swam in the pond and ate the kernels of corn sprinkled along the grass. Again in Autumn, the ducks flew off to warmer places only to return in Mid-May with a few more friends. By the third year, fifty ducks were swimming and eating kernels of corn dotting the banks of the pond.
Now, the sight of all those ducks swimming and eating made Bill hungry. Wouldn’t a duck dinner taste just grand? Bill decided to catch two of the drakes. He sprinkled corn on the lawn but also filled a bucket with kernels then poured a bottle of vodka evenly over the morsels. Marinate from the inside out. As is so common in most species, the drakes headed straight for the vodka while the hens pecked at the non-alcoholic kernels on the grass. With his mouth watering, Bill sat in a lawn chair and waited. Night was fast approaching, prompting the ducks to fly off for nesting in the trees nearby. Bill ran into the house for a sack to place the two drunken drakes in that he was sure he would find passed out on the bank. But as luck would have it, the drakes were not passed out on the bank of the pond. Instead, two lonely drakes were quietly floating in the middle of the pond weaving back and forth. Bill swore he saw a smile on their beaks.
“I think I’ll join them,” Bill laughed as went into the house for his vodka-on-the-rocks.
by Sandy Powers
Bill and Debbie had a half acre pond in the back of their house in Blaine, Minnesota. One year Debbie had a great idea for an Easter gift for the kids: baby ducklings. When the ducklings were big enough, she reasoned, they’d live in the pond and everyone would enjoy watching them. Why not? So, Bill and Debbie bought three baby ducklings for Easter. Because Minnesota is known for its cold Spring weather, the baby ducklings were kept in the kids’ filled swimming pool in the basement with a heat lamp shinning on the ducklings and water. By the time Summer arrived, the three ducklings were large enough for the pond. All summer long, they swam and walked in the yard, eating the kernels of corn Bill, Debbie and kids scattered on the grass. Before long, the ducklings became two hens and a drake.
Autumn came and off flew the ducks to warmer places. The kids cried. Bill tried to reassure them that the ducks may return in late Spring. Sure enough with the flowers blooming in Mid-May, the ducks returned to the pond. But this time they brought a few friends. Ten ducks swam in the pond and ate the kernels of corn sprinkled along the grass. Again in Autumn, the ducks flew off to warmer places only to return in Mid-May with a few more friends. By the third year, fifty ducks were swimming and eating kernels of corn dotting the banks of the pond.
Now, the sight of all those ducks swimming and eating made Bill hungry. Wouldn’t a duck dinner taste just grand? Bill decided to catch two of the drakes. He sprinkled corn on the lawn but also filled a bucket with kernels then poured a bottle of vodka evenly over the morsels. Marinate from the inside out. As is so common in most species, the drakes headed straight for the vodka while the hens pecked at the non-alcoholic kernels on the grass. With his mouth watering, Bill sat in a lawn chair and waited. Night was fast approaching, prompting the ducks to fly off for nesting in the trees nearby. Bill ran into the house for a sack to place the two drunken drakes in that he was sure he would find passed out on the bank. But as luck would have it, the drakes were not passed out on the bank of the pond. Instead, two lonely drakes were quietly floating in the middle of the pond weaving back and forth. Bill swore he saw a smile on their beaks.
“I think I’ll join them,” Bill laughed as went into the house for his vodka-on-the-rocks.
April 13, 2011
Iowa City, 1943
Iowa City, Iowa
Oct. 17, 1943
Dear Grace,
How are you, Pal? I’m back again and late as usual. I hope you’re not angry with me because of that. I try to do my best and sometimes I don’t do so hot. I’ve been restricted or confined to quarters this weekend, feeling pretty good after 5 hours of drill! Last Friday our C.O. caught 8 of us missing from bed check and detailed us for the weekend with no passes! We drilled and cleaned our whole house. We just got done at 4:30 and couldn’t go to town at all anyway. I think maybe I’ll be restricted next week also.
The reason is we received special permission from our Colonel to go to a party in Cedar Rapids that was given for us “Czechs” by the Czech people of Cedar Rapids yesterday. There were only about 50 soldiers or so and plenty of girls. I danced and drank beer all night. Met a heck of a lot of beautiful girls and had a hell of a good time. Even on the trolley coming back we sang and shouted and put on a show for everyone including civilians. Everyone liked it. We even went so far as having individual acts by all of us. We had a glorious night and met the friendliest people anyone can hope to meet.
Keep that coffee pot warm because I’ll see you very soon. I’ve heard from Bob about a week ago and he says he’s fine. My brother-in-law Ray is overseas and can’t say much as yet. Tell Bill I said “Hello.”
Grace, so long and don’t forget that cup of coffee.
Your Pal.
Porky
Oct. 17, 1943
Dear Grace,
How are you, Pal? I’m back again and late as usual. I hope you’re not angry with me because of that. I try to do my best and sometimes I don’t do so hot. I’ve been restricted or confined to quarters this weekend, feeling pretty good after 5 hours of drill! Last Friday our C.O. caught 8 of us missing from bed check and detailed us for the weekend with no passes! We drilled and cleaned our whole house. We just got done at 4:30 and couldn’t go to town at all anyway. I think maybe I’ll be restricted next week also.
The reason is we received special permission from our Colonel to go to a party in Cedar Rapids that was given for us “Czechs” by the Czech people of Cedar Rapids yesterday. There were only about 50 soldiers or so and plenty of girls. I danced and drank beer all night. Met a heck of a lot of beautiful girls and had a hell of a good time. Even on the trolley coming back we sang and shouted and put on a show for everyone including civilians. Everyone liked it. We even went so far as having individual acts by all of us. We had a glorious night and met the friendliest people anyone can hope to meet.
Keep that coffee pot warm because I’ll see you very soon. I’ve heard from Bob about a week ago and he says he’s fine. My brother-in-law Ray is overseas and can’t say much as yet. Tell Bill I said “Hello.”
Grace, so long and don’t forget that cup of coffee.
Your Pal.
Porky
April 12, 2011
Did You See My Chicken?
Did You See My Chicken?
These were desperate times. 1938. The Great Depression. Many people were out of work and hungry. Dad considered himself one of the lucky ones. He was able to get a job with the PWA, the Public Works Administration, created by President Roosevelt in 1935. Earning $40 a month, Mom and Dad rented a house in LaGrange, Ohio. It was an old house with a pot belly stove but no water. A block away was the village square which had a communal water pump. Every day Mom and Dad would take turns filling buckets of water at the pump to carry back to empty into a large tub resting on the floor in the kitchen. Even with such an inconvenience, Mom and Dad thought they were fortunate. At least, more fortunate than many of the folks they knew, like Orville and Dee.
Orville and Dee wanted to get married but they couldn’t afford to live together and there was no room for the two of them at either parent’s house. Taking pity on the unhappy couple, my mom and dad offered our home to them.
“Get married and you can live with us until you can find work,” Mom said.
Orville and Dee married and moved in with us: seven people crowded into a small two bedroom house with a pot belly stove and no water. Orville was indeed thankful. Maybe a little too thankful because one afternoon Orville came home with a dead chicken.
“Grace, I found this chicken dead at the side of the road,” Orville explained with a wide smile spread across his face.
“What?” my mother exclaimed. “How in the world could you find a dead chicken along side of the road?”
“There it was, just laying there. And it still warm,” Orville answered with a wide smile spread across his face.
“Indeed, it is,” agreed Mom, as she felt the dead chicken with her hand. “Our luck must be changing! Chicken soup for dinner!”
And what a fine dinner it was. For the first time in many a day, we had our fill.
Two mornings later there was a knock on our door. It was Mr. Horvath, our neighbor two houses down.
“Mrs. Balogh, did you see my chicken?” he asked. “I noticed on occasion one of my chickens walking towards your shed.”
“My shed?”
Mr. Horvath nodded.
“No, Mr. Horvath, I did not see your chicken, but I will ask around,” Mom replied.
Later that evening, Mom casually asked Orville, “Orville, where again did you say you found that dead chicken?”
Red-faced, Orville stammered, “I…I was so thankful to you for giving us a home and we were hungry and I wanted to contribute so I scattered bread crumbs along the path towards the shed and this chicken followed the crumbs….. Mr. Horvath had so many…..”
“Oh, Orville!” my mother wailed.
The following day, Mr. Horvath was $1.00 richer.
Sandy Powers is the author of “Passage.”
http://www.sandypowers.org
These were desperate times. 1938. The Great Depression. Many people were out of work and hungry. Dad considered himself one of the lucky ones. He was able to get a job with the PWA, the Public Works Administration, created by President Roosevelt in 1935. Earning $40 a month, Mom and Dad rented a house in LaGrange, Ohio. It was an old house with a pot belly stove but no water. A block away was the village square which had a communal water pump. Every day Mom and Dad would take turns filling buckets of water at the pump to carry back to empty into a large tub resting on the floor in the kitchen. Even with such an inconvenience, Mom and Dad thought they were fortunate. At least, more fortunate than many of the folks they knew, like Orville and Dee.
Orville and Dee wanted to get married but they couldn’t afford to live together and there was no room for the two of them at either parent’s house. Taking pity on the unhappy couple, my mom and dad offered our home to them.
“Get married and you can live with us until you can find work,” Mom said.
Orville and Dee married and moved in with us: seven people crowded into a small two bedroom house with a pot belly stove and no water. Orville was indeed thankful. Maybe a little too thankful because one afternoon Orville came home with a dead chicken.
“Grace, I found this chicken dead at the side of the road,” Orville explained with a wide smile spread across his face.
“What?” my mother exclaimed. “How in the world could you find a dead chicken along side of the road?”
“There it was, just laying there. And it still warm,” Orville answered with a wide smile spread across his face.
“Indeed, it is,” agreed Mom, as she felt the dead chicken with her hand. “Our luck must be changing! Chicken soup for dinner!”
And what a fine dinner it was. For the first time in many a day, we had our fill.
Two mornings later there was a knock on our door. It was Mr. Horvath, our neighbor two houses down.
“Mrs. Balogh, did you see my chicken?” he asked. “I noticed on occasion one of my chickens walking towards your shed.”
“My shed?”
Mr. Horvath nodded.
“No, Mr. Horvath, I did not see your chicken, but I will ask around,” Mom replied.
Later that evening, Mom casually asked Orville, “Orville, where again did you say you found that dead chicken?”
Red-faced, Orville stammered, “I…I was so thankful to you for giving us a home and we were hungry and I wanted to contribute so I scattered bread crumbs along the path towards the shed and this chicken followed the crumbs….. Mr. Horvath had so many…..”
“Oh, Orville!” my mother wailed.
The following day, Mr. Horvath was $1.00 richer.
Sandy Powers is the author of “Passage.”
http://www.sandypowers.org
