Kathryn Griffin Swegart's Blog, page 15

Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee!

We gave this book to our granddaughter for her third birthday and she is enthralled. Reportedly, her parents have read it to her 30 times since May 19th! Filled with vibrant colors and rollicking adventure, this book captures the beauty of the Maine coast. That is not a surprise. Chris Van Dusen lives in a small town along the Maine coast. I enjoyed studying his detailed depictions of clapboard houses nestled among pines near the sea. Van Dusen certainly was inspired by the book Burt Dow Deep Water Man, written by Robert McCloskey The last page of both books shows whales waving their flukes in farewell. It is a delightful book for adult and child alike.

I wish to see Miss Beecher…

Birdwatchers will instantly recognize this as a bird call. Yes, birdwatchers, you guessed it. This is the call of the chestnut-sided warbler. Ornithologists also identify the call as something like please, please to meetcha. My husband got a close look at the warbler while using our water closet.  He saw the energetic bird hopping from branch to branch on our lilac bush adjacent to the back of the house. When I informed him of the English version of the birdsong, he chuckled, considering the location of the sighting.

Ever wonder how renowned bird expert Rory Peterson came up with his descriptions of bird songs? I picture him wearing earphones, listening to recordings. Perhaps he had a paper and pencil next to him. He narrows his eyes in concentration. What does that call sound like? Over and over, Peterson mutters to himself.

Take the oven-bird, described by Peterson as a ‘voice in the woods’. If a teacher takes a stroll in the forest, it sounds like students haunting eastern woodlands. The oven-bird sings an emphatic teacher, TEACHER, TEACHER…repeated rapidly…louder and louder until the woods ring out with the sound. If a teacher is named Miss Beecher, imagine her reaction to these mingled songs. I wish to see Miss Beecher….teacher…TEACHER…TEACHER! Poor Miss Beecher would think she had stumbled into a Stephen King horror flick!

Hopefully, Miss Beecher would not then hear the cry of the rusty blackbird. Peterson describes it as ‘a note, a loud clack…like a rusty hinge, rather penetrating’. She would definitely run for her life, certain that disgruntled students from years past were out to get her.

Wait! Wait! Now the brewer’s blackbird is after her! She hears the harsh wheezy check, check, again the sound of a rusty hinge. Miss Beecher stumbles along, deeper into the woods. Finally she gets a break. She hears pensive whistles(as described in Peterson’s field guide)-two clear notes, then three quavering notes on a different pitch. Yes, you guessed it birdwatchers! It is the white-throated sparrow singing Sam Peabody…Peabody…Peabody.

Now our little story comes to a happy end. Our heroine is not trapped in a Stephen King story. Think Jane Austen. Think Victorian romance. Miss Beecher meets her true love. Miss Beecher meets Sam Peabody.

Good News!

My latest book is now available on Amazon. The book Martyrs is about the courageous Jesuit priest Father Sebastian Rale who lived among the Wabanaki people of Maine almost three hundred years ago. It is a story of faith, courage and enduring friendship. This is book two in the Brave Hearts series that brings real Catholic heroes to life. Book one was Perilous Days which won the Catholic Writer’s Guild Seal of Approval.

This will make the perfect summer book for the young reader in your family. Adults will also find this story an inspiring addition to their book list. https://www.amazon.com/dp/1097783146

A visit with cousin John Adams

Over the past year, one of my sisters -a person with advanced skills in genealogy-discovered that John Adams is our fourth cousin, four times removed. That sounds like a distant relation, but our family and the Adams’ clan trace back to John and Priscilla Alden of Mayflower fame.

Ironically, we grew up in Quincy, not knowing that we had famous ancestors buried  in the vicinity. Last week, we Griffin kids walked the streets of our old neighborhood and also visited the tombs of John Adams, Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams and Louise Catherine Adams. They are buried in tombs below the Unitarian Church in downtown Quincy. We had a delightful tour guide who spoke of these courageous figures in American history.

As we walked down the stone stairs to the crypt, I turned to see an iron gate in front of the crypt. It was ajar. The guide opened it up and we actually went IN the crypt and could touch the granite tombs. I felt a rush of gratitude and a real sense of history come alive through the spirit of this great visionary and one of the founding fathers of our country.

Perilous Days…

…is  now in production as an audiobook. I listened to the first 20 minutes and it actually brought tears to my eyes. Benjamin Stanton, the narrator, really makes the characters and the story come alive. Although set in Nazi Germany, it is contemporary as we, too, live in dangerous times when the culture of death encroaches on our country.

Perilous Days was awarded the Catholic Writer’s Guild Seal of Approval and is a powerful story of courage, faith, and friendship. It is  historical fiction for ages 10-14. I will add that it is also the story of the loyal bond between a dog and his owner. I grew up reading Albert Payson Terhune dog stories (Lad a Dog) and of course Lassie Come Home. This influenced my choice to include this plot line.

Now busy families can listen to Perilous Days as the drive on errands or summer trips.

Watch for the official announcement of its availability as an audiobook.

 

 

Saint or Sinner?

God can save the sinner you are…but not the saint you pretend to be.  

Anthony Bloom

Wow- a #1 best seller on Amazon!

Heavenly Hosts:Eucharistic Miracles for Kids is a #1 bestseller on Amazon in the category of Roman Catholic books! It was definitely powered by the Holy Spirit. I did no advertising. Thanks to all for the support!

p.s. It does make a great First Communion book. Check out the second edition. It has two additional stories, including the miracle at Fatima. Also included is a photo gallery of actual sites where the miracles occurred.

Who is this Mysterious Man?

Turin , Italy – 1898. Excitement was in the air as Secondo Pia set up his photographic equipment to take what was to become one of the most famous photographs in history. Big preparations were underway for the 400th anniversary celebration of Turin Cathedral. Pia, an amateur photographer and lawyer, was given permission by King Umberto I to photograph the mysterious Shroud of Turin, believed by many to be the burial cloth of Jesus Christ.

On the evening of May 28th, Pia entered the darkened cathedral, accompanied by two friends.  His first job was to set up two electric lamps, using a portable generator. In those days, few buildings had electricity and the cathedral was no exception. The ingenious Secondo became the first photographer to use electric light bulbs in a photo shoot. All preparations were complete. It was time. Pia squinted into the viewfinder. All he could see was the faint image of a face, almost impossible to discern with the naked eye. After fussing with exposures, he aimed and clicked the button. Eager to see his results, all three men rushed to the darkroom. Carefully, Pia prepared the photographic plates and immersed them in a chemical bath. A face appeared to them, clear as a bell. It was the face of a bearded man with long hair. It was the face of a tortured man who had been beaten and crowned with thorns.  In this shocking moment, Pia nearly dropped the plate. Secondo had photographed a negative image, thus producing a positive image on his negative film. On June 2, 1898, the exhibition ended and the shroud was returned to a casket.

Over the next few years, the photograph became subject to much debate. Some thought Secondo Pia had tampered with the plates. Others believed the photograph to be of supernatural origins. For three decades, Secondo’s photograph remained an enigma. In 1931, Giuseppe Enrie, photographed the shroud, producing the same results.

Scientific study of the shroud ramped up in 1978. In that year, the Shroud of Turin Research Project (STURP) was granted permission to study the shroud. Thirty-three scientists from twenty major research institutions studied the shroud, round the clock, for five days. Results were released in 1981. “The shroud image is that of a real human form of a scourged, crucified man. It is not the product of an artist.  The blood stains are composed of hemoglobin and also give a positive test for serum albumin. No physical, chemical, or medical circumstance could adequately account for the image.”  STURP scientists stated that the shroud “remains now, as it has in the past, a mystery.”

Skeptics believe that the shroud is a painting rendered by an artist in the15thcentury. That would take a leap in faith. After all, the shroud is a negative image. Photography was not invented until 1839. No paint or pigments have been found on the cloth. No brush strokes are visible. Modern science has not been able to duplicate the image, even with laser technology. In 1988, carbon 14 tests determined the cloth to be from medieval times. Since then, flaws in protocol were uncovered. In 2005, a National Geographicarticle concluded,  “The findings greatly increase the possibility that the shroud may be as old as Christianity itself.”

Author Susan Tassone viewed the Shroud of Turin in a 1998 exposition. She wrote, “I was awestruck. I could not say a word. It was overwhelming to see it up front face-to-face. The shroud made me realize the brutal sufferings of Jesus-Jesus was beyond brutally beaten. It made me realized the suffering-beyond belief-that he went through for our sake. You felt it was just for you he did that.”

 

A Martyr from Maine?

Nine months in the making and now my next book Martyrs is almost ready to be sent to the publisher! Martyrs is the gripping story of Father Sebastian Rale- a courageous Jesuit who lived among the Wabanaki people of Maine for thirty years. He was killed in a massacre by British soldiers in August 1724. It is book 2 in the Brave Hearts series -inspiring stories about Catholic men and women.

Watch for the announcement!

The Little Saint

One hundred years ago on this day – St. Francisco Marto- died at the age of ten years old. Francisco was one of the three famous visionaries of Fatima, Portugal.  In 1917, his younger sister Jacinta and older cousin Lucia witnessed extraordinary visions of the Blessed Mother. Six times The Lady appeared to them during a period from May to October. In those apparitions, Francisco learned that he would soon be taken up to heaven.

This proved to be true. In 1918, a terrible flu epidemic swept the world, killing 100 million people. After much suffering, Francisco died on April 4, 1919 from complications of influenza.

He was canonized on May 13,2017,  joined by his sister Jacinta as officially recognized saints of the Catholic Church.