K.B. Pellegrino's Blog, page 12
September 10, 2020
NEW LIFE
I revel in my world today. New life has entered our family. A girl baby named Harper. A jolt to this COVID-19 saturated world! An impetus to my creativity! A joy to the universe as all new babies give!
I live a structured life set off by family and friends and writing and household duties. It is a life of rich rewards and as often happens facing some difficulties. Not today. Today I revel in the rejuvenation of life. The start of life with its connected responsibilities has never overwhelmed me. I celebrate the holding of a baby near despite the accompany work of care. I rejoice in the simplicity of her needs. I thank God for this opportunity to touch, kiss, teach, and love my precious girl. I am not her mother but one of the grands and connected in our souls.
I live a structured life set off by family and friends and writing and household duties. It is a life of rich rewards and as often happens facing some difficulties. Not today. Today I revel in the rejuvenation of life. The start of life with its connected responsibilities has never overwhelmed me. I celebrate the holding of a baby near despite the accompany work of care. I rejoice in the simplicity of her needs. I thank God for this opportunity to touch, kiss, teach, and love my precious girl. I am not her mother but one of the grands and connected in our souls.
September 3, 2020
Long Weekend Ahead...
What will I do this weekend; it is Labor Day Weekend? What will you do? What is a fall back for us all, whether we are at the beach, lake, mountains, at home, etc.? No question. Shut off the television and pick up a book. Sit in the luxury of your weekend off, if you have that luxury and start a novel. If not, then cool off from a day at work with a short story.
I personally love fiction. It is through fiction I can believe in a character if the author has brought one to life. I meet people as I wish they were or wish they weren't; but as I've often observed, well-written fictional characters give us insight into real life people we know. That discernment into a fictional person allows us to analyze how we truly feel about their actions. We may be able to bring those thoughts back to real life and use our knowledge to better deal with folks who occupy our lives. Happy Reading on this end of summer weekend 2020. Limited quarantine may bring us into quiet introspection through reading.
K. B. Pellegrino
I personally love fiction. It is through fiction I can believe in a character if the author has brought one to life. I meet people as I wish they were or wish they weren't; but as I've often observed, well-written fictional characters give us insight into real life people we know. That discernment into a fictional person allows us to analyze how we truly feel about their actions. We may be able to bring those thoughts back to real life and use our knowledge to better deal with folks who occupy our lives. Happy Reading on this end of summer weekend 2020. Limited quarantine may bring us into quiet introspection through reading.
K. B. Pellegrino
September 2, 2020
Labor Day 2020
I soul-searched today about my personal history with Labor Day. I remember parades; albeit some were very small. Mostly as a child, I celebrated lakeside with my family at cottages in New Hampshire. I remember wearing my bathing suit all day and going barefoot. My brothers and sister and I swam and ate the barbecue bash with great gusto. We were hungry. Maybe we would join the folks from nearby cottages and have a group feast. Our mom would make brownies and strawberry shortcake with real whippe...
August 27, 2020
2020 American Fiction Awards Winner – “Mary Lou: Oh, What Did She Do?”
Interview with Author K. B. Pellegrino on her recent fiction writing award:
The 2020 American Fictions Awards Sponsored by American Book Fest – WINNER – MYSTERY/SUSPENSE: PROCEDURALS FOR “MARY LOU: Oh, What Did She Do?
Having such a diverse character as Mary Lou was an opportunity for me to share with readers a woman’s life. Perhaps Mary Lou was an unusual woman, with certainly I hope unusual experiences, but her road in life portrays our search for good over evil. There are times when we fail i...
August 21, 2020
Life Informing Writing
I have an anthology of Longfellow's poems and I visit it intermittently. My visits force me to look to his background and history of his settings to interpret some of the nuances of his work.
Today I read "The Two Locks of Hair." I quote the last stanza,
"And when I see that lock of gold,
Pale grows the evening-red
and when the dark lock I behold,
I wish that I were dead."
I was stopped in my tracks. So much of his poetry is story telling and about macro worldly issues, but this poem is decidedly personal. I searched his bio. He had two wives and many children by today's standard. He lost his first wife Mary while she was carrying his child. He lost his second wife Fanny in a sudden room fire. He lost a young child Fanny. The locks attribute the dark to his wife and the blonde to his baby. Can anyone best this expression of grief. I cannot. I understand this verbal assault to the world's ears saying he cannot take this. He did.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
Today I read "The Two Locks of Hair." I quote the last stanza,
"And when I see that lock of gold,
Pale grows the evening-red
and when the dark lock I behold,
I wish that I were dead."
I was stopped in my tracks. So much of his poetry is story telling and about macro worldly issues, but this poem is decidedly personal. I searched his bio. He had two wives and many children by today's standard. He lost his first wife Mary while she was carrying his child. He lost his second wife Fanny in a sudden room fire. He lost a young child Fanny. The locks attribute the dark to his wife and the blonde to his baby. Can anyone best this expression of grief. I cannot. I understand this verbal assault to the world's ears saying he cannot take this. He did.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
August 13, 2020
Fun with Words
We authors play with words, question their meanings in a conversation, and generally understand the power of words. Below is a post from someone who looks at the rearranging of words. It is fun. It could be a game for quarantining. Enjoy!
This is one of the cleverest
E-mails I've received in a while.
Someone out there
Must be "deadly" at Scrabble.
PRESBYTERIAN :
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER
ASTRONOMER :
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER
DESPERATION :
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT
THE EYES :
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE
GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE
THE MORSE CODE :
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS
DORMITORY :
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM
SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME
ELECTION RESULTS :
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT
SNOOZE ALARMS :
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z'S
A DECIMAL POINT :
When you rearrange the letters:
I'M A DOT IN PLACE
THE EARTHQUAKES :
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE
ELEVEN PLUS TWO :
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE
This is one of the cleverest
E-mails I've received in a while.
Someone out there
Must be "deadly" at Scrabble.
PRESBYTERIAN :
When you rearrange the letters:
BEST IN PRAYER
ASTRONOMER :
When you rearrange the letters:
MOON STARER
DESPERATION :
When you rearrange the letters:
A ROPE ENDS IT
THE EYES :
When you rearrange the letters:
THEY SEE
GEORGE BUSH:
When you rearrange the letters:
HE BUGS GORE
THE MORSE CODE :
When you rearrange the letters:
HERE COME DOTS
DORMITORY :
When you rearrange the letters:
DIRTY ROOM
SLOT MACHINES:
When you rearrange the letters:
CASH LOST IN ME
ELECTION RESULTS :
When you rearrange the letters:
LIES - LET'S RECOUNT
SNOOZE ALARMS :
When you rearrange the letters:
ALAS! NO MORE Z'S
A DECIMAL POINT :
When you rearrange the letters:
I'M A DOT IN PLACE
THE EARTHQUAKES :
When you rearrange the letters:
THAT QUEER SHAKE
ELEVEN PLUS TWO :
When you rearrange the letters:
TWELVE PLUS ONE
August 12, 2020
August Auguries?
Can we predict the future? Can occurrences or happenings foretell an event? The press would have you believe that one news item indicates the direction of the world in attaining peace, harmony, election results, national health, and general future life.
Never do we hear from these harbingers of fortune the importance of individual determination. We are able to direct our lives. We are able to will ourselves to work in positive directions both alone and with groups. It is not necessary to tear dow...
July 31, 2020
Myths Running Through Us...
I have been viewing bit by bit some common myths shared by many. "Parallel Myths" by J. F.. Bierlein covers our worldly myths by categories and brings us a tidy connection of myths as history based influences on our thinking. Creation Myths are some we have maybe thought about. We have also seen biblical documentaries on the Flood Myths. There are myths on death, morality, love, heroism, and the Apocalypse.
For me it is important to read the multiple sources of these myths knowing they have some truth basis, or else they would not have been important in so many cultures. Today culture and cultural history are often ignored or subject to obliteration; which I personally think is unfortunate.
I do like a stanza from Psalms 78:1-7, stanza four quoted in the section 7 of Morality Tales in this book:
"he gave our ancestors strict orders
to teach it to their children;
the next generation was to learn it,
the children still to be born. "
History and culture together form a basis for educating our children. Teaching our history and culture, and in the United States we find a potpourri of cultures, in no way prevents our children from questioning and looking for improvements; but will assist them in the process of making changes with respect to the collective past. Many of those who lived before this generation also had valuable ideas and lived lives in support of their families, neighbors, and citizenry.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
For me it is important to read the multiple sources of these myths knowing they have some truth basis, or else they would not have been important in so many cultures. Today culture and cultural history are often ignored or subject to obliteration; which I personally think is unfortunate.
I do like a stanza from Psalms 78:1-7, stanza four quoted in the section 7 of Morality Tales in this book:
"he gave our ancestors strict orders
to teach it to their children;
the next generation was to learn it,
the children still to be born. "
History and culture together form a basis for educating our children. Teaching our history and culture, and in the United States we find a potpourri of cultures, in no way prevents our children from questioning and looking for improvements; but will assist them in the process of making changes with respect to the collective past. Many of those who lived before this generation also had valuable ideas and lived lives in support of their families, neighbors, and citizenry.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
July 27, 2020
New Discoveries
On my walk today, I took a route by the City of Springfield's development and construction of a Lock or water re-drain near Van Horn Park which was completed recently. In the midst of the city are two walking paths surrounded by trees and on one side by the held back water creating a small lake. Sometimes new construction creates a burst of nature; so much so, I caught my breath.
Construction when done with the earth and its needs in mind reminds me of the finished novel that, whatever genre it is written in, gives enjoyment to the reader. To be surprised by new inspired nature/man made beauty is such a comforting wonder in this era of COVID-19. I feel exactly the same wonder when I read an author's work that also grants me a view of information, or a logical examination of issues, or an inspiration, or wonderful fictional characters, or plots. Life is good today.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
Construction when done with the earth and its needs in mind reminds me of the finished novel that, whatever genre it is written in, gives enjoyment to the reader. To be surprised by new inspired nature/man made beauty is such a comforting wonder in this era of COVID-19. I feel exactly the same wonder when I read an author's work that also grants me a view of information, or a logical examination of issues, or an inspiration, or wonderful fictional characters, or plots. Life is good today.
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
July 16, 2020
Feed My Soul; not My Fears
If books were cattle, you'd call me carnivorous, because I devour reading for my mental health. I'll read many genres. I'll read many authors. I know I need the jolt to my creativity when I get insight from another's form of story telling. Story telling is important even in non-fiction; but for me, fiction is my choice for eighty percent of my reading.
I look to the word carnivore and think how much literature out there states our history as eaters of red meat allowed our brains to grow to their current size. Despite many plant-based sources of vitamins and protein and thus energy, the human body also needs animal protein for growth and development. And..and... I need to read for growth and development. I need the organic ideas of others for growth.
Just today I flipped through a current issue of "Harper's Bazaar." I talk back to writers when I disagree. I did not agree to much in this issue. The writers don't hear and therefore don't argue back. I share alternate arguments the writer never hears. I often have a conniption when the author and I directly oppose each other's views of the world. It is all good. I read and maybe I grow. I feed my soul with ideas. I possibly take those ideas often as raw material to work on, but I do think through others' ideas. Reading is my red meat for the soul. Have a steak and read!
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
I look to the word carnivore and think how much literature out there states our history as eaters of red meat allowed our brains to grow to their current size. Despite many plant-based sources of vitamins and protein and thus energy, the human body also needs animal protein for growth and development. And..and... I need to read for growth and development. I need the organic ideas of others for growth.
Just today I flipped through a current issue of "Harper's Bazaar." I talk back to writers when I disagree. I did not agree to much in this issue. The writers don't hear and therefore don't argue back. I share alternate arguments the writer never hears. I often have a conniption when the author and I directly oppose each other's views of the world. It is all good. I read and maybe I grow. I feed my soul with ideas. I possibly take those ideas often as raw material to work on, but I do think through others' ideas. Reading is my red meat for the soul. Have a steak and read!
K. B. Pellegrino, Author
