Susie Duncan Sexton's Blog, page 21
November 5, 2013
crash the party!
In response to the article "21 state parks to close for deer hunts"...
do we not pay taxes to support these parks? I really wish this posturing would stop....so lucrative for the state of Indiana...multi-millions cross palms and more DNR employees (nepotism?) added to the payroll...
many spins offered for why this is staged every fall...usually two week-ends in November...this year one of the week-ends will be during the Christmas season?
what are we teaching our children? nature makes up for the contrived carnage and these people and "sportsmen" and "sportswomen" (ha!) know that...thus, ever more deer to murder.
decimating herds produces even more deer. so forget the "weeding out" argument. feeding the poor? lead-loaded flesh...bovine tuberculosis? and meat is toxic to the human intestinal system. invite the poor to your own home...feed them...healthy vegetables.
licenses, "hunting" gear, weaponry, costumes all for sale.
last year the faux "reason" was depletion of certain types of precious plant life? this year plant life is proliferating and needs to be pruned by deer so that ridiculous rationalization for mass murder is not in play.
these sentient beings are flushed out onto our whizzing highways--people on the move whether they need to be or not. this is horrid and an embarrassment for our state.
this state-wide bulletin issued later than ever this year so that protests can be kept to a minimum...shame on Indiana.
where are the outcries? and birth control is entirely, scientifically possible and available...but where are the profits for the greedy in sensible and humane control of deer populations? there is a sucker born every minute!
write letters to the editor in the short time left...crash the party!
_________________
More Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels was just released on October 31, 2013! Read an excerpt from the book and order your copy today at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm. More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
________________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its new follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
do we not pay taxes to support these parks? I really wish this posturing would stop....so lucrative for the state of Indiana...multi-millions cross palms and more DNR employees (nepotism?) added to the payroll...
many spins offered for why this is staged every fall...usually two week-ends in November...this year one of the week-ends will be during the Christmas season?
what are we teaching our children? nature makes up for the contrived carnage and these people and "sportsmen" and "sportswomen" (ha!) know that...thus, ever more deer to murder.
decimating herds produces even more deer. so forget the "weeding out" argument. feeding the poor? lead-loaded flesh...bovine tuberculosis? and meat is toxic to the human intestinal system. invite the poor to your own home...feed them...healthy vegetables.
licenses, "hunting" gear, weaponry, costumes all for sale.
last year the faux "reason" was depletion of certain types of precious plant life? this year plant life is proliferating and needs to be pruned by deer so that ridiculous rationalization for mass murder is not in play.
these sentient beings are flushed out onto our whizzing highways--people on the move whether they need to be or not. this is horrid and an embarrassment for our state.
this state-wide bulletin issued later than ever this year so that protests can be kept to a minimum...shame on Indiana.
where are the outcries? and birth control is entirely, scientifically possible and available...but where are the profits for the greedy in sensible and humane control of deer populations? there is a sucker born every minute!
write letters to the editor in the short time left...crash the party!
_________________
More Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels was just released on October 31, 2013! Read an excerpt from the book and order your copy today at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
Order the paperback on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/More-Secrets-Ol...
Read more: http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwbooks...
View YouTube video of me reading from the new book here.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm. More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
________________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its new follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
November 3, 2013
I was clueless until then
I have been vegan only about two years....I was clueless until then.
my instincts were to eat tomato soup and peanut butter sandwiches and tossed salad from birth...but the world trains us to eat cadavers....which is bad for animals and bad for us! I only needed to watch a couple of tragic videos and listen to some lectures from learned professorial types, and I became a vegan forever.
it is quite easy to do the right thing and to apologize in earnest to the animal kingdom for having devoured 90 animals per year which is the average consumption...when driving by a farmer's field...count the cattle and multiply by 3 to 5 and say to your self...that is whom I am eating with teeth designed to eat beans and greens and sensible food.
in killing them we are killing ourselves.
thanks for these comments!
Kathy Bostwick: "Beautiful kitty and great article - I am still working on a no-meat diet. I was 'raised' to consume animal flesh and now it breaks my heart......I look at my cat 'zoo' and tell myself....I wouldn't eat you so why is it ok to eat any other animal. Thanks for the motivational post!!!!"
Jan Kelley: "I couldn't wait for snail mail! I just bought the Kindle versions of 'Secrets....' and 'More Secrets......'! I read the first couple chapters and love it! Thanks, Susie, for such great memories. I spent many wonderful hours in our local movie theaters as a youngster growing up in Charleston, S.C. Never forgot them."
_________________
More Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels was just released on October 31, 2013! Read an excerpt from the book and order your copy today at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm. More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
________________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its new follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
my instincts were to eat tomato soup and peanut butter sandwiches and tossed salad from birth...but the world trains us to eat cadavers....which is bad for animals and bad for us! I only needed to watch a couple of tragic videos and listen to some lectures from learned professorial types, and I became a vegan forever.
it is quite easy to do the right thing and to apologize in earnest to the animal kingdom for having devoured 90 animals per year which is the average consumption...when driving by a farmer's field...count the cattle and multiply by 3 to 5 and say to your self...that is whom I am eating with teeth designed to eat beans and greens and sensible food.
in killing them we are killing ourselves.
thanks for these comments!
Kathy Bostwick: "Beautiful kitty and great article - I am still working on a no-meat diet. I was 'raised' to consume animal flesh and now it breaks my heart......I look at my cat 'zoo' and tell myself....I wouldn't eat you so why is it ok to eat any other animal. Thanks for the motivational post!!!!"
Jan Kelley: "I couldn't wait for snail mail! I just bought the Kindle versions of 'Secrets....' and 'More Secrets......'! I read the first couple chapters and love it! Thanks, Susie, for such great memories. I spent many wonderful hours in our local movie theaters as a youngster growing up in Charleston, S.C. Never forgot them."
_________________
More Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels was just released on October 31, 2013! Read an excerpt from the book and order your copy today at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
Order the paperback on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/More-Secrets-Ol...
Read more: http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwbooks...
View YouTube video of me reading from the new book here.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm. More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
________________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its new follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
October 31, 2013
Susie Duncan Sexton's MISUNDERSTOOD GARGOYLES & OVERRATED ANGELS Set for Release Today
Out today! “Entitled Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels, this volume celebrates the underdogs and the unappreciated among us... and sets its sights on the hypocritical and the hyped among us as well. Through the context of a life fully lived - with an affinity for the arts, an aversion to small-mindedness, and a passion for all creatures great and small - Susie weaves a rich tapestry of punditry and advocacy.”
Read more: http://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwbooks...
Order the paperback on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/More-Secrets-Ol...
Review from Don Sexton: "Susie Duncan Sexton once again captures the fun and the frustration of growing up in a small town in the 1950s and 1960s. Susie uses her experiences and observations and applies a very humorous and intelligent view of life in the 21st century. Her knowledge of movies, theater, literature, animal rights, music, family interaction (or the lack thereof) and community involvement all make for a very entertaining and enthralling trip. Highly recommended."
View above article from Columbia City Post & Mail here: http://www.susieduncansexton.com/Post...
_________________
More Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels was just released on October 31, 2013! Read an excerpt from the book and order your copy today at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
View YouTube video of me reading from the new book here.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
________________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter and its new follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels - print and ebook versions of both are available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
October 22, 2013
people LOVE to talk about 401Ks
people LOVE to talk about 401Ks and the value of gold and which investments yield the most lucrative results and whatnot. I contend that what is wrong with the entire globe at this moment is self-centeredness, apathy, and barking up the wrong trees.
we need to focus on global warming, profit-obsession, understanding that health is compromised through over-reproduction of sentient beings to be victimized for big bucks, our role in causing the starvation of the globe's children, and our true worship of the almighty dollar rather than any kind of god.
I hate money...I respect only one thing...LIFE and the right of all of us including sentient beings to live out their/our lives. how do we turn the world around? ... we remind folks every chance we get ...to start with an appreciation of how precious nature and its inhabitants should be to all of us. Then a PEACEABLE KINGDOM is assured.
we can change this globe for the better. LIFE matters more than money. bless those sweet hearts who care…
and on it goes...
THE DNR (DEPARTMENT OF NUTS & RATIONALIZERS) has begun issuing their propaganda aimed at the clueless -- it's "hunting" season for those big-hearted "sports"men and "sports"women who are looking out for all of the rest of us by playing with their expensive equipment and buying their costumes to prowl around in the woods and flush out innocent sentient beings onto the highways. Check your local "news" sources and look for the bizarre rationales for murdering. Try speaking up...
time for a letter writing campaign in the face of the twisted self-serving "logic" in these DNR issued articles. our state makes a "killing" in profits...incredibly so...licenses for starters. a license to murder...come get it, boys...and girls!
oh, and THIS JUST IN...DNR should be called DEPARTMENT OF NEPOTISM (and hiring of ) RELATIVES...so that's why the need for obscene profiteering in that so-called DEPARTMENT.
The "weeding out of the herds" causes even more fawns to get born....so forget about that twisted logic...and what more could "sportsmen and sportswomen and sports-kids" desire than more targets for their infantile games...and birth control for those herds is available...how about those who are so interested in weeding out the herds learn to administer birth control?
and as for feeding the poor, how about buying the poor packages of veggie burgers or inviting them over to eat dinner rather than feeding them lead infested tubercular flesh? protein can be found in nuts, beans...and actual dirt itself.
deer do not eat meat .... they graze .... so should we!
and please start protesting photo ops published in newspapers of ignorant humans posing with murdered beings? right above the church news of the day.
would love for you to write letters to editors. I do every year...wishing lots more kind folks would, too! I send letters all over Indiana. I start with my own newspaper in my own town...then to ft. wayne newspapers and then to indy star which never publishes...Logansport does...last year my letter made it into about 8 newspapers.
and facebook is the best spot to speak up....and out and about...speak up...this is a dangerous time of year. because of "hunters"...who should instead hunt for boogers in their own noses and leave the rest of us alone.
in summary...
oh, ho, ha! lies, lies, lies...propaganda...wish to feed the poor? then stop paying big "bucks" ...pardon the pun...for costumes, killing equipment and licenses...stop supporting the Department of Nonsense and Rubberstamping (twisted "log...ic") with cash for licenses...they are laughing all the way to the bank at the idiots who kill for fun and games, pretending they are feeding the hungry and depleting the herds...feeding to the poor tubercular flesh and organs filled with lead poisoning?
whoa...stop the BS, DNR. invite the hungry over for dinner...donate to soup kitchens...spend your free time demonstrating love and not hateful murder. read up and become informed on the unnatural balance of nature being created with this murderous farce. thanks for caring...and speaking up...and watch out for woodland sentient beings being flushed into the roadways from the few forests left for them to inhabit. do not look the other way.
keep your eyes on the roads and on the propaganda...realize the profits are huge for certain manipulative folks.
_________________
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels will be released October 31. More information about the book including an excerpt and pre-orders is available at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
View YouTube video of me reading from the new book here.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
_______________________
Sent to me by Squawk Backer Carissa Serino:
Traveling Friends Transit is an up-and-coming animal rescue transport service, and our mission is to save animals from high kill shelters, and bring them to the loving arms of fosters, rescuers, and adopters. Every day, 10,000 healthy, and adoptable animals are murdered in shelters, because there is not enough room or they cannot afford to keep them alive. Transportation is key to the rescue process. Someone may live in New York, and want to adopt a dog from Texas, so this is where transportation comes in. We have done volunteer transports, and I am an approved driver for Kindred Hearts Transportation Connection, and Martha's Mutt Movers.
Here is the link:
http://igg.me/at/tftransit/x/4774439
My long-term boyfriend and I are very passionate about animals, and we want to help them any way we can. We set up our campaign on Indiegogo, a crowd funding site, to help us raise funds for our future small business. We listed specific amounts on our campaign page along with perks, but people can donate anything they can afford, they just cannot choose a perk. We have raised $355 so far, but our goal is $10,000 (the same number of innocent animals killed every day). We are hoping and praying we can achieve our goal before the deadline on November 18, 2013. We also intend to make our transportation prices affordable for everyone interested in rescuing an animal. We do not want to cut into the animals' funds.
We have also just posted a new promotion, which will provide transportation discounts to those looking to foster, rescue, or adopt an animal. We need support from the animal community, and we cannot do this without your help.
Every animal deserves to live, and we do not have the power to deny them that. Every animal deserves to be loved and cared for. Every animal has the right to find their forever home, so please help us save their lives. Only you can make a difference even if it is for one animal. Big or small, Traveling Friends Transit, will transport any animal in need of saving. - Carissa Serino
________________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
we need to focus on global warming, profit-obsession, understanding that health is compromised through over-reproduction of sentient beings to be victimized for big bucks, our role in causing the starvation of the globe's children, and our true worship of the almighty dollar rather than any kind of god.
I hate money...I respect only one thing...LIFE and the right of all of us including sentient beings to live out their/our lives. how do we turn the world around? ... we remind folks every chance we get ...to start with an appreciation of how precious nature and its inhabitants should be to all of us. Then a PEACEABLE KINGDOM is assured.
we can change this globe for the better. LIFE matters more than money. bless those sweet hearts who care…
and on it goes...
THE DNR (DEPARTMENT OF NUTS & RATIONALIZERS) has begun issuing their propaganda aimed at the clueless -- it's "hunting" season for those big-hearted "sports"men and "sports"women who are looking out for all of the rest of us by playing with their expensive equipment and buying their costumes to prowl around in the woods and flush out innocent sentient beings onto the highways. Check your local "news" sources and look for the bizarre rationales for murdering. Try speaking up...
time for a letter writing campaign in the face of the twisted self-serving "logic" in these DNR issued articles. our state makes a "killing" in profits...incredibly so...licenses for starters. a license to murder...come get it, boys...and girls!
oh, and THIS JUST IN...DNR should be called DEPARTMENT OF NEPOTISM (and hiring of ) RELATIVES...so that's why the need for obscene profiteering in that so-called DEPARTMENT.
The "weeding out of the herds" causes even more fawns to get born....so forget about that twisted logic...and what more could "sportsmen and sportswomen and sports-kids" desire than more targets for their infantile games...and birth control for those herds is available...how about those who are so interested in weeding out the herds learn to administer birth control?
and as for feeding the poor, how about buying the poor packages of veggie burgers or inviting them over to eat dinner rather than feeding them lead infested tubercular flesh? protein can be found in nuts, beans...and actual dirt itself.
deer do not eat meat .... they graze .... so should we!
and please start protesting photo ops published in newspapers of ignorant humans posing with murdered beings? right above the church news of the day.
would love for you to write letters to editors. I do every year...wishing lots more kind folks would, too! I send letters all over Indiana. I start with my own newspaper in my own town...then to ft. wayne newspapers and then to indy star which never publishes...Logansport does...last year my letter made it into about 8 newspapers.
and facebook is the best spot to speak up....and out and about...speak up...this is a dangerous time of year. because of "hunters"...who should instead hunt for boogers in their own noses and leave the rest of us alone.
in summary...
oh, ho, ha! lies, lies, lies...propaganda...wish to feed the poor? then stop paying big "bucks" ...pardon the pun...for costumes, killing equipment and licenses...stop supporting the Department of Nonsense and Rubberstamping (twisted "log...ic") with cash for licenses...they are laughing all the way to the bank at the idiots who kill for fun and games, pretending they are feeding the hungry and depleting the herds...feeding to the poor tubercular flesh and organs filled with lead poisoning?
whoa...stop the BS, DNR. invite the hungry over for dinner...donate to soup kitchens...spend your free time demonstrating love and not hateful murder. read up and become informed on the unnatural balance of nature being created with this murderous farce. thanks for caring...and speaking up...and watch out for woodland sentient beings being flushed into the roadways from the few forests left for them to inhabit. do not look the other way.
keep your eyes on the roads and on the propaganda...realize the profits are huge for certain manipulative folks.
_________________
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels will be released October 31. More information about the book including an excerpt and pre-orders is available at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
View YouTube video of me reading from the new book here.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
_______________________
Sent to me by Squawk Backer Carissa Serino:
Traveling Friends Transit is an up-and-coming animal rescue transport service, and our mission is to save animals from high kill shelters, and bring them to the loving arms of fosters, rescuers, and adopters. Every day, 10,000 healthy, and adoptable animals are murdered in shelters, because there is not enough room or they cannot afford to keep them alive. Transportation is key to the rescue process. Someone may live in New York, and want to adopt a dog from Texas, so this is where transportation comes in. We have done volunteer transports, and I am an approved driver for Kindred Hearts Transportation Connection, and Martha's Mutt Movers.
Here is the link:
http://igg.me/at/tftransit/x/4774439
My long-term boyfriend and I are very passionate about animals, and we want to help them any way we can. We set up our campaign on Indiegogo, a crowd funding site, to help us raise funds for our future small business. We listed specific amounts on our campaign page along with perks, but people can donate anything they can afford, they just cannot choose a perk. We have raised $355 so far, but our goal is $10,000 (the same number of innocent animals killed every day). We are hoping and praying we can achieve our goal before the deadline on November 18, 2013. We also intend to make our transportation prices affordable for everyone interested in rescuing an animal. We do not want to cut into the animals' funds.
We have also just posted a new promotion, which will provide transportation discounts to those looking to foster, rescue, or adopt an animal. We need support from the animal community, and we cannot do this without your help.
Every animal deserves to live, and we do not have the power to deny them that. Every animal deserves to be loved and cared for. Every animal has the right to find their forever home, so please help us save their lives. Only you can make a difference even if it is for one animal. Big or small, Traveling Friends Transit, will transport any animal in need of saving. - Carissa Serino
________________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
October 18, 2013
My poem
After a nice stiff drink.
What do I think?
I've got my list about
Where I want it I shout...
People who think.
People who wink
At the conceited.
Just what is needed --
People who give a damn
And seem to be fam.
People who stop to share.
People who really care
And always put self
Away on some shelf!
I love, yes, LOVE, my FB friends
Who shun trendy trends!
Oriented toward global type
Peace & activism --no hype!
Welcome to the world we want,
No kids nor animals sad and gaunt.
Hope is ours and we march to that
Whenever we click away and chat!
Sincerely yours, Susie Sexton -- that is I!
That's all for now...Love ya! Good-bye!
neat comments!
Jayson Leary: "Ma'am, are you any relation to the 20th century poet Anne Sexton?"
Rachael Hiscock: "Sounds like a perfect world (no kids nor animals sad and gaunt)."
Colin Lively: "I love Susie's look now too. Very chic, casual, timeless."
Tari Joyce: "As beautiful then as you are now!!!"
Diane Shenkman Baumgarten: "Beautiful photo!"
Nichole O'Reilly: "I LOVE this photo!"
_________________
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels will be released October 31. More information about the book including an excerpt and pre-orders is available at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
View YouTube video of me reading from the new book here.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
_______________________
Sent to me by Squawk Backer Carissa Serino:
Traveling Friends Transit is an up-and-coming animal rescue transport service, and our mission is to save animals from high kill shelters, and bring them to the loving arms of fosters, rescuers, and adopters. Every day, 10,000 healthy, and adoptable animals are murdered in shelters, because there is not enough room or they cannot afford to keep them alive. Transportation is key to the rescue process. Someone may live in New York, and want to adopt a dog from Texas, so this is where transportation comes in. We have done volunteer transports, and I am an approved driver for Kindred Hearts Transportation Connection, and Martha's Mutt Movers.
Here is the link:
http://igg.me/at/tftransit/x/4774439
My long-term boyfriend and I are very passionate about animals, and we want to help them any way we can. We set up our campaign on Indiegogo, a crowd funding site, to help us raise funds for our future small business. We listed specific amounts on our campaign page along with perks, but people can donate anything they can afford, they just cannot choose a perk. We have raised $355 so far, but our goal is $10,000 (the same number of innocent animals killed every day). We are hoping and praying we can achieve our goal before the deadline on November 18, 2013. We also intend to make our transportation prices affordable for everyone interested in rescuing an animal. We do not want to cut into the animals' funds.
We have also just posted a new promotion, which will provide transportation discounts to those looking to foster, rescue, or adopt an animal. We need support from the animal community, and we cannot do this without your help.
Every animal deserves to live, and we do not have the power to deny them that. Every animal deserves to be loved and cared for. Every animal has the right to find their forever home, so please help us save their lives. Only you can make a difference even if it is for one animal. Big or small, Traveling Friends Transit, will transport any animal in need of saving. - Carissa Serino
________________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
What do I think?
I've got my list about
Where I want it I shout...
People who think.
People who wink
At the conceited.
Just what is needed --
People who give a damn
And seem to be fam.
People who stop to share.
People who really care
And always put self
Away on some shelf!
I love, yes, LOVE, my FB friends
Who shun trendy trends!
Oriented toward global type
Peace & activism --no hype!
Welcome to the world we want,
No kids nor animals sad and gaunt.
Hope is ours and we march to that
Whenever we click away and chat!
Sincerely yours, Susie Sexton -- that is I!
That's all for now...Love ya! Good-bye!
neat comments!
Jayson Leary: "Ma'am, are you any relation to the 20th century poet Anne Sexton?"
Rachael Hiscock: "Sounds like a perfect world (no kids nor animals sad and gaunt)."
Colin Lively: "I love Susie's look now too. Very chic, casual, timeless."
Tari Joyce: "As beautiful then as you are now!!!"
Diane Shenkman Baumgarten: "Beautiful photo!"
Nichole O'Reilly: "I LOVE this photo!"
_________________
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels will be released October 31. More information about the book including an excerpt and pre-orders is available at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
View YouTube video of me reading from the new book here.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
_______________________
Sent to me by Squawk Backer Carissa Serino:
Traveling Friends Transit is an up-and-coming animal rescue transport service, and our mission is to save animals from high kill shelters, and bring them to the loving arms of fosters, rescuers, and adopters. Every day, 10,000 healthy, and adoptable animals are murdered in shelters, because there is not enough room or they cannot afford to keep them alive. Transportation is key to the rescue process. Someone may live in New York, and want to adopt a dog from Texas, so this is where transportation comes in. We have done volunteer transports, and I am an approved driver for Kindred Hearts Transportation Connection, and Martha's Mutt Movers.
Here is the link:
http://igg.me/at/tftransit/x/4774439
My long-term boyfriend and I are very passionate about animals, and we want to help them any way we can. We set up our campaign on Indiegogo, a crowd funding site, to help us raise funds for our future small business. We listed specific amounts on our campaign page along with perks, but people can donate anything they can afford, they just cannot choose a perk. We have raised $355 so far, but our goal is $10,000 (the same number of innocent animals killed every day). We are hoping and praying we can achieve our goal before the deadline on November 18, 2013. We also intend to make our transportation prices affordable for everyone interested in rescuing an animal. We do not want to cut into the animals' funds.
We have also just posted a new promotion, which will provide transportation discounts to those looking to foster, rescue, or adopt an animal. We need support from the animal community, and we cannot do this without your help.
Every animal deserves to live, and we do not have the power to deny them that. Every animal deserves to be loved and cared for. Every animal has the right to find their forever home, so please help us save their lives. Only you can make a difference even if it is for one animal. Big or small, Traveling Friends Transit, will transport any animal in need of saving. - Carissa Serino
________________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
October 3, 2013
Homeward Angle: "THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS!"
Latest Homeward Angle column - about the joys of my recent book reading event in Ann Arbor, the friends with whom I caught up, and the hijinks that ensued! Plus, info on the upcoming release of my second book Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels. View the scanned version here.
You can view Michael Madigan's photo album of the event (including photos by Michael, Richard Reeves, Rebecca Winder, Don Sexton, and Keith Kleespie) by clicking here - and Richard Reeves' video here.
"THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS!"
Post & Mail newspaper publisher Rick Kreps accidentally locked himself inside our bathroom 20 years ago. Obviously, we eventually released him with the help of a credit card -- or was it a kitchen knife? I forget. After about a half hour of socializing with other guests on our front porch, we all began to notice Rick's absence. We initially offered to shove food under the door in case our feverish attempts to respond efficaciously -- to his plaintive cries of "help" -- failed. DÉJÀ VU! Columbia City native and realtor, mortician, U. S. Army vet, preacher's kid Keith Kleespie nearly suffered the same fate a couple of weeks ago. Returning home from Ann Arbor, Michigan, we three senior citizens -- Don, Keith and I -- stopped at a Big Boy near the border of the Wolverine State and good ole Indiana. Mr. Kleespie, snoozing all sprawled out filling up the back seat, had seat-belted himself so cozily and thoroughly that we almost summoned a SWAT team to extricate him.
What a stupendously adventurous afternoon we had all just shared…rolling into Ann Arbor to a divinely open-minded cultural arts center tucked inside a wooded residential area and holding an impressive audience of folks ranging in age from four to at least 97. I immediately hugged Pam Simmons -- perky organizer of the day's events -- and Facebook animal activist pal Kim Elizabeth Johnson as well as several Penny Seats pals o' mine! Michigander Roy, transplanted from Hoosierland, sang his heart out: "The Music of Home" originally crooned by Tony Perkins in the musical "Greenwillow"; "This is the Life" from "Golden Boy" starring Sammy Davis, Jr.; "Ben" a super sensation about a kid and a rat -- made popular by Michael Jackson; "Send in the Clowns"; "Little Tin Box" -- dealing with political corruption -- from "Fiorello"; "Corner of the Sky" a wistful "Pippin" number, and John Lennon's "Imagine". His introduction of his Ma, "The Old Type…Writer", included all of those glorious melodies with which he masterfully summarized my life and likes. Stunning, talented Rebecca Biber accompanied him on a Clavinova. Bravo!
Next! My turn! I hobbled to the podium and introduced my "props" (and "characters"!) which included both Keith and Don for starters…then pulled from my pocket a beaming Shirley Jones button and lanyard. I read aloud my rather (gently) acerbic essay, "Me and Shirley…Shirley Jones", praying that Ms. Jones, in the exact same vicinity for her own book signing, would be nowhere nearby to stumble onto my performance! Honestly, the two of us "dueling divas" -- as Facebook friend Beth Kennedy (author of the blog I Didn't Have My Glasses On) dubbed Shirl and Susie -- in the same place at the same time for a second occasion within two years? Now what would be the odds of that? My 2011 piece, published in the Post & Mail, alleges that Shirley treats her female fans a bit brashly and dismissively while charmingly batting her false eyelashes at the "gentlemen callers" lining up to "meet and greet"!
Little did I realize that I'd be video-taped for posterity by a delightful artist named Richard Reeves. I -- and LOTS of human beings -- have watched and re-watched that recent posting on Facebook. I ain't viral, but I have attracted a bit of a following, including Neil Simon? No, not THAT Neil Simon -- but a writer nonetheless. Since I may be the love-child of Jonathan Winters and Bob Hope, it took me 20 minutes to wade through my seven paragraphs. I offered up outrageous faces, wildly gestured, and seemed to be channeling pianist Victor Borge who'd regale audiences with a couple of measures of a tune, then prattle on about something or other only to reclaim his piano bench, flip out the tails of his tuxedo jacket, and resume another measure and a half prior to wandering repeatedly toward the microphone to gab and gesticulate further. Guess what? Accidental stand-up improvisational comedy is far more thrilling than living out one's life poised in front of a keyboard of whatever variety.
"How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm, after they've seen Par -- ee?" Not that I don't respect and revere the community into which I got born and have inhabited on and off -- for what may be centuries --, but once I get invited out of town to enjoy a ripple of applause, to witness several sincere encouraging smiles, to acknowledge what might be categorized loosely as "gales" of laughter, and to top such revelry off dining at Paesano's Italian Restaurant, it's tough to concentrate on "patching the roof, pitching the hay…feeding the turtle and walking the pig" (lyrics from the "Pippin" musical, again!) I admit I love the bright lights of show biz, even though my "opening act", deftly delivered by brilliant baritone/impresario Roy "Mario Lanza" Sexton, outdid my concoction of an offering by a country mile, to be perfectly honest! As theater critic Walter Kerr once wrote, I "had delusions of adequacy."
thanks for the comments!
Beth Kennedy: "ooh, thanks for the shoutout, son and mother - one of the dueling divas!"
Neil Simon: "'I ain't viral, but I have attracted a bit of a following, including Neil Simon? No, not THAT Neil Simon -- but a writer nonetheless.' and I am very honored to be in there!"
Rebecca Biber: "Thanks! Nice recap of our madcap - I was way too excited about the Victor Borge reference, btw. I have always wanted to be him a little."
Mary Shaull: "an amazing woman!"
Carole Craft: "Susie never runs out of material, and good material at that! I enjoy it all."
Carol Baker: "Susie, you had me at 'delusions of adequacy'. Aaah... kindred spirits."
John Mola: "I just KNEW that I was an able assistant! What a great column!"
Amber Hoffman: "Thanks! Always enjoy!"
Kim Elizabeth Johnson: "I see I am mentioned here! Very sweet of your mom!"
_________________
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels will be released October 31. More information about the book including an excerpt and pre-orders is available at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
View YouTube video of me reading from the new book here.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
You can view Michael Madigan's photo album of the event (including photos by Michael, Richard Reeves, Rebecca Winder, Don Sexton, and Keith Kleespie) by clicking here - and Richard Reeves' video here.
"THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS!"
Post & Mail newspaper publisher Rick Kreps accidentally locked himself inside our bathroom 20 years ago. Obviously, we eventually released him with the help of a credit card -- or was it a kitchen knife? I forget. After about a half hour of socializing with other guests on our front porch, we all began to notice Rick's absence. We initially offered to shove food under the door in case our feverish attempts to respond efficaciously -- to his plaintive cries of "help" -- failed. DÉJÀ VU! Columbia City native and realtor, mortician, U. S. Army vet, preacher's kid Keith Kleespie nearly suffered the same fate a couple of weeks ago. Returning home from Ann Arbor, Michigan, we three senior citizens -- Don, Keith and I -- stopped at a Big Boy near the border of the Wolverine State and good ole Indiana. Mr. Kleespie, snoozing all sprawled out filling up the back seat, had seat-belted himself so cozily and thoroughly that we almost summoned a SWAT team to extricate him.
What a stupendously adventurous afternoon we had all just shared…rolling into Ann Arbor to a divinely open-minded cultural arts center tucked inside a wooded residential area and holding an impressive audience of folks ranging in age from four to at least 97. I immediately hugged Pam Simmons -- perky organizer of the day's events -- and Facebook animal activist pal Kim Elizabeth Johnson as well as several Penny Seats pals o' mine! Michigander Roy, transplanted from Hoosierland, sang his heart out: "The Music of Home" originally crooned by Tony Perkins in the musical "Greenwillow"; "This is the Life" from "Golden Boy" starring Sammy Davis, Jr.; "Ben" a super sensation about a kid and a rat -- made popular by Michael Jackson; "Send in the Clowns"; "Little Tin Box" -- dealing with political corruption -- from "Fiorello"; "Corner of the Sky" a wistful "Pippin" number, and John Lennon's "Imagine". His introduction of his Ma, "The Old Type…Writer", included all of those glorious melodies with which he masterfully summarized my life and likes. Stunning, talented Rebecca Biber accompanied him on a Clavinova. Bravo!
Next! My turn! I hobbled to the podium and introduced my "props" (and "characters"!) which included both Keith and Don for starters…then pulled from my pocket a beaming Shirley Jones button and lanyard. I read aloud my rather (gently) acerbic essay, "Me and Shirley…Shirley Jones", praying that Ms. Jones, in the exact same vicinity for her own book signing, would be nowhere nearby to stumble onto my performance! Honestly, the two of us "dueling divas" -- as Facebook friend Beth Kennedy (author of the blog I Didn't Have My Glasses On) dubbed Shirl and Susie -- in the same place at the same time for a second occasion within two years? Now what would be the odds of that? My 2011 piece, published in the Post & Mail, alleges that Shirley treats her female fans a bit brashly and dismissively while charmingly batting her false eyelashes at the "gentlemen callers" lining up to "meet and greet"!
Little did I realize that I'd be video-taped for posterity by a delightful artist named Richard Reeves. I -- and LOTS of human beings -- have watched and re-watched that recent posting on Facebook. I ain't viral, but I have attracted a bit of a following, including Neil Simon? No, not THAT Neil Simon -- but a writer nonetheless. Since I may be the love-child of Jonathan Winters and Bob Hope, it took me 20 minutes to wade through my seven paragraphs. I offered up outrageous faces, wildly gestured, and seemed to be channeling pianist Victor Borge who'd regale audiences with a couple of measures of a tune, then prattle on about something or other only to reclaim his piano bench, flip out the tails of his tuxedo jacket, and resume another measure and a half prior to wandering repeatedly toward the microphone to gab and gesticulate further. Guess what? Accidental stand-up improvisational comedy is far more thrilling than living out one's life poised in front of a keyboard of whatever variety.
"How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm, after they've seen Par -- ee?" Not that I don't respect and revere the community into which I got born and have inhabited on and off -- for what may be centuries --, but once I get invited out of town to enjoy a ripple of applause, to witness several sincere encouraging smiles, to acknowledge what might be categorized loosely as "gales" of laughter, and to top such revelry off dining at Paesano's Italian Restaurant, it's tough to concentrate on "patching the roof, pitching the hay…feeding the turtle and walking the pig" (lyrics from the "Pippin" musical, again!) I admit I love the bright lights of show biz, even though my "opening act", deftly delivered by brilliant baritone/impresario Roy "Mario Lanza" Sexton, outdid my concoction of an offering by a country mile, to be perfectly honest! As theater critic Walter Kerr once wrote, I "had delusions of adequacy."
Postscript: During our giddy afternoon replete with Roy's and Susie's dual performances/book signing ably assisted by John Mola/ introduction of my next book "More Secrets of an Old Typewriter -- Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels" available October 31st (www.susieduncansexton.com) /, a glorious outdoor sign and clever indoor posters/ a scrumptious personalized cake via Marla Rondo and a variety of cheeses, I met a charming fellow named Michael "Chuck" Madigan who'd published several of my poems in a magnificent anthology "Poetic Resonance Imaging: Behind the Door". I shook hands with a handsome "Detroit Free Press" reporter! In addition, I was overwhelmed that Terry Branoff, the son of Ronald Reagan's White House secretary, brought a gift of top 'o the line jelly beans to thank me for my previous "Post & Mail" column entitled "Reagan's Jelly Beans Result in Treasure" and asked that I provide an autograph for his mom! Book signings can be a hoot! Hopefully, across town, "Mrs. Partridge", allowing bygones to be bygones, enjoyed as delightful an afternoon as I did! This just in: My book's press release gained an early honor as one of "Broadway World's" … "hottest articles" overshadowing "Duck Dynasty's Si-Cology", an Ayn Rand related treatise, a discussion of Jim Henson's art and life, and a movie starring Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep herself? Mercy, the month of September treated me quite well indeed! Hopefully, Meryl won't be too disappointed…
thanks for the comments!
Beth Kennedy: "ooh, thanks for the shoutout, son and mother - one of the dueling divas!"
Neil Simon: "'I ain't viral, but I have attracted a bit of a following, including Neil Simon? No, not THAT Neil Simon -- but a writer nonetheless.' and I am very honored to be in there!"
Rebecca Biber: "Thanks! Nice recap of our madcap - I was way too excited about the Victor Borge reference, btw. I have always wanted to be him a little."
Mary Shaull: "an amazing woman!"
Carole Craft: "Susie never runs out of material, and good material at that! I enjoy it all."
Carol Baker: "Susie, you had me at 'delusions of adequacy'. Aaah... kindred spirits."
John Mola: "I just KNEW that I was an able assistant! What a great column!"
Amber Hoffman: "Thanks! Always enjoy!"
Kim Elizabeth Johnson: "I see I am mentioned here! Very sweet of your mom!"
_________________
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels will be released October 31. More information about the book including an excerpt and pre-orders is available at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
View YouTube video of me reading from the new book here.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
September 22, 2013
BroadwayWorld coverage: MISUNDERSTOOD GARGOYLES & OVERRATED ANGELS Set for 10/31 Release
Read original post by clicking here and view YouTube video here. Talk of the Town coverage here.
Interview with Zuzanna Orzel, the cover artist, here.
In Susie Duncan Sexton's follow-up to Secrets of an Old Typewriter, she offers her second essay collection of provocative, funny, and heartwarming/heartbreaking observations. Entitled Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels, this volume celebrates the underdogs and the unappreciated among us... and sets its sights on the hypocritical and the hyped among us as well. Through the context of a life fully lived-with an affinity for pop culture, an aversion to small town small-mindedness, and a passion for animal rights-Susie weaves a rich tapestry of punditry and advocacy.
Her son Roy Sexton, a marketing executive as well as semi-professional actor/singer in Southeast Michigan, observes, "My mom loves art, Doris Day, theatre, literature, William Faulkner, musicals, pop culture, Annie Lennox, classic television, movie stars, Kurt Vonnegut, thoughtfulness, kindness, love, wit, words, canasta, conversation, smoking, martinis, Mad Men and mad men, and most of all animals of all shapes and sizes, souls and temperaments. This grab bag of biographical influences (and more!) can be found here-look for the clues, play with the text, and enjoy the images and thoughts offered."
Anyone who has ever lived in a small town certainly knows that secrets are sometimes not so secret. Duncan Sexton of Columbia City/Fort Wayne, Indiana has tickled the keys of her trusty old typewriter for nearly five decades, and that venerable machine (now actually a Dell desktop computer) continues to reveal its secrets. Duncan Sexton's writings may be about small-town life, but the ideas contained within are expansive.
She currently writes monthly columns "Old Type Writer" for a popular local blog Talk of the Town and "Homeward Angle" for the Columbia City Post and Mail newspaper. She has been a frequent contributor to the literary journal "Moronic Ox," and her poetry was selected by poet Charles Michael Madigan and by Wayne State professor M.L. Liebler to be featured in "Poetic Resonance Imaging: Behind the Door." She also has been featured in Our USA, Writing Raw, Where Writers Write, and InD'tale magazines. Her first book Secrets of an Old Typewriter is currently available as a paperback (as well as download formats) at www.open-bks.com, www.amazon.com, and www.susieduncansexton.com. The follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels will be released October 31. More information about the book including an excerpt and pre-orders is available at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
"I am so overjoyed by where all of this has gone in such a short period of time. And I really want to thank everyone who has supported me along the way," notes Duncan Sexton. "My first love will always be animal rights and I weave those themes somewhere into just about everything I write. However, both books - the first one and this second one - serve as a Valentine of sorts to my loving parents and to my husband and to my son. My mom and dad taught me the transformational power and joy of language and of art and of generosity, and I hope that these books, taken together, leave some small mark on this world consistent with those teachings. Readers will find many references to my parents and to the special lives they led and to the way my husband and I have tried to replicate that with each other and with our son."
Editor and fellow Open Books author Kelly Huddleston observed, "Susie Duncan Sexton is one of a kind! That much was obvious in her debut title with us. Now her old red Royal, from North Carolina's Pilot Life Insurance where her mother worked during the Great Depression, is ready to tell all again in Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels. She is in rare form! At a recent author event as part of Ann Arbor, Michigan's Arts and Culture Series, Susie even roasted actress Shirley Jones in a reading from the new book (view YouTube video here). That's the way you do it, Susie!"
Duncan Sexton will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. She will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
ABOUT SUSIE DUNCAN SEXTON: Susie Duncan Sexton grew up in a very small town, Columbia City, Indiana. After graduating twelfth in her class at Ball State University (winning the first ever John R. Emens award for "most outstanding senior"), she returned to her hometown where she has worked as a teacher, a publicist, a museum curator, and a health lecturer.
She currently writes monthly columns "Old Type Writer" for a popular local blog Talk of the Town and "Homeward Angle" for the Columbia City Post and Mail newspaper. She has been a frequent contributor to the literary journal "Moronic Ox," and her poetry was selected by poet Charles Michael Madigan and by Wayne State professor M.L. Liebler to be featured in "Poetic Resonance Imaging: Behind the Door." She also has been featured in Our USA, Writing Raw, Where Writers Write, and InD'tale magazines. Her first book Secrets of an Old Typewriter is currently available as a paperback (as well as download formats) at www.open-bks.com, www.amazon.com, and www.susieduncansexton.com. The follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels will be released October 31. More information about the book including an excerpt and pre-orders is available at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
Describing her work, Susie says, "I willingly share nostalgic trips to the past as I have now achieved such an old age that no one remains who can question the authenticity of my memory of places, people and events that were very much never what they were cracked up to be."
_________________
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels will be released October 31. More information about the book including an excerpt and pre-orders is available at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
View YouTube video of me reading from the new book here.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
Interview with Zuzanna Orzel, the cover artist, here.
In Susie Duncan Sexton's follow-up to Secrets of an Old Typewriter, she offers her second essay collection of provocative, funny, and heartwarming/heartbreaking observations. Entitled Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels, this volume celebrates the underdogs and the unappreciated among us... and sets its sights on the hypocritical and the hyped among us as well. Through the context of a life fully lived-with an affinity for pop culture, an aversion to small town small-mindedness, and a passion for animal rights-Susie weaves a rich tapestry of punditry and advocacy.
Her son Roy Sexton, a marketing executive as well as semi-professional actor/singer in Southeast Michigan, observes, "My mom loves art, Doris Day, theatre, literature, William Faulkner, musicals, pop culture, Annie Lennox, classic television, movie stars, Kurt Vonnegut, thoughtfulness, kindness, love, wit, words, canasta, conversation, smoking, martinis, Mad Men and mad men, and most of all animals of all shapes and sizes, souls and temperaments. This grab bag of biographical influences (and more!) can be found here-look for the clues, play with the text, and enjoy the images and thoughts offered."
Anyone who has ever lived in a small town certainly knows that secrets are sometimes not so secret. Duncan Sexton of Columbia City/Fort Wayne, Indiana has tickled the keys of her trusty old typewriter for nearly five decades, and that venerable machine (now actually a Dell desktop computer) continues to reveal its secrets. Duncan Sexton's writings may be about small-town life, but the ideas contained within are expansive.
She currently writes monthly columns "Old Type Writer" for a popular local blog Talk of the Town and "Homeward Angle" for the Columbia City Post and Mail newspaper. She has been a frequent contributor to the literary journal "Moronic Ox," and her poetry was selected by poet Charles Michael Madigan and by Wayne State professor M.L. Liebler to be featured in "Poetic Resonance Imaging: Behind the Door." She also has been featured in Our USA, Writing Raw, Where Writers Write, and InD'tale magazines. Her first book Secrets of an Old Typewriter is currently available as a paperback (as well as download formats) at www.open-bks.com, www.amazon.com, and www.susieduncansexton.com. The follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels will be released October 31. More information about the book including an excerpt and pre-orders is available at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
"I am so overjoyed by where all of this has gone in such a short period of time. And I really want to thank everyone who has supported me along the way," notes Duncan Sexton. "My first love will always be animal rights and I weave those themes somewhere into just about everything I write. However, both books - the first one and this second one - serve as a Valentine of sorts to my loving parents and to my husband and to my son. My mom and dad taught me the transformational power and joy of language and of art and of generosity, and I hope that these books, taken together, leave some small mark on this world consistent with those teachings. Readers will find many references to my parents and to the special lives they led and to the way my husband and I have tried to replicate that with each other and with our son."
Editor and fellow Open Books author Kelly Huddleston observed, "Susie Duncan Sexton is one of a kind! That much was obvious in her debut title with us. Now her old red Royal, from North Carolina's Pilot Life Insurance where her mother worked during the Great Depression, is ready to tell all again in Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels. She is in rare form! At a recent author event as part of Ann Arbor, Michigan's Arts and Culture Series, Susie even roasted actress Shirley Jones in a reading from the new book (view YouTube video here). That's the way you do it, Susie!"
Duncan Sexton will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. She will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
ABOUT SUSIE DUNCAN SEXTON: Susie Duncan Sexton grew up in a very small town, Columbia City, Indiana. After graduating twelfth in her class at Ball State University (winning the first ever John R. Emens award for "most outstanding senior"), she returned to her hometown where she has worked as a teacher, a publicist, a museum curator, and a health lecturer.
She currently writes monthly columns "Old Type Writer" for a popular local blog Talk of the Town and "Homeward Angle" for the Columbia City Post and Mail newspaper. She has been a frequent contributor to the literary journal "Moronic Ox," and her poetry was selected by poet Charles Michael Madigan and by Wayne State professor M.L. Liebler to be featured in "Poetic Resonance Imaging: Behind the Door." She also has been featured in Our USA, Writing Raw, Where Writers Write, and InD'tale magazines. Her first book Secrets of an Old Typewriter is currently available as a paperback (as well as download formats) at www.open-bks.com, www.amazon.com, and www.susieduncansexton.com. The follow-up Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels will be released October 31. More information about the book including an excerpt and pre-orders is available at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
Describing her work, Susie says, "I willingly share nostalgic trips to the past as I have now achieved such an old age that no one remains who can question the authenticity of my memory of places, people and events that were very much never what they were cracked up to be."
_________________
New book Misunderstood Gargoyles & Overrated Angels will be released October 31. More information about the book including an excerpt and pre-orders is available at www.open-bks.com and www.susieduncansexton.com.
View YouTube video of me reading from the new book here.
I will be appearing in Fort Wayne, Indiana on November 9 as part of the Allen County Public Library's 2013 Author Fair from noon to 4 pm More info can be found at http://www.acpl.lib.in.us/. I will also present at an author event on November 17 at 2 pm at the Whitley County Historical Museum in Columbia City, Indiana: http://www.whitleymuseum.com/.
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
September 11, 2013
you'll be instantly rewarded!
OH, HELL...EVERYBODY JUST GO ADOPT ONE SHELTER ANIMAL...THERE ARE MORE OF US THAN THEM...PROBLEM SOLVED...THIS IS RIDICULOUS.
JUST ONE FOR EVERYBODY...IT WOULD HONESTLY WORK. GO TO IT...AND BECOME A VEGAN WHO WALKS THE DOG OR CHASES AFTER THE KITTY...NO NEED FOR AEROBICS AND WORKING OUT... A DONE DEAL...NO MORE PSYCHOSES...NO MORE HATE...PLENTY OF LOVE TO GO AROUND...
I AM NOW GOING TO FAINT...A GREAT DAY'S WORK FOR NO PAY...BUT PLENTY OF SATISFACTION...NOTHING BETTER THAN SOME SATISFACTION...GET ON BOARD...EITHER SHARE THESE LITTLE GUYS OR ADOPT ONE...OKAY!? THANKS SO MUCH.
I AM OUTTA HERE...I FEEL TOTALLY PARALYZED AND I HAVE A BOOK GIG TO ATTEND TO...GOOD FOR ME!
blessings to the caring souls always! you'll be instantly rewarded!
Check out Susie's essay "This Happily Haunted House" in the latest edition of Our USA Magazine by clicking here.
neat comments!
Jorge Guzman: "OMG! Awesome!"
_________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
JUST ONE FOR EVERYBODY...IT WOULD HONESTLY WORK. GO TO IT...AND BECOME A VEGAN WHO WALKS THE DOG OR CHASES AFTER THE KITTY...NO NEED FOR AEROBICS AND WORKING OUT... A DONE DEAL...NO MORE PSYCHOSES...NO MORE HATE...PLENTY OF LOVE TO GO AROUND...
I AM NOW GOING TO FAINT...A GREAT DAY'S WORK FOR NO PAY...BUT PLENTY OF SATISFACTION...NOTHING BETTER THAN SOME SATISFACTION...GET ON BOARD...EITHER SHARE THESE LITTLE GUYS OR ADOPT ONE...OKAY!? THANKS SO MUCH.
I AM OUTTA HERE...I FEEL TOTALLY PARALYZED AND I HAVE A BOOK GIG TO ATTEND TO...GOOD FOR ME!
blessings to the caring souls always! you'll be instantly rewarded!
Check out Susie's essay "This Happily Haunted House" in the latest edition of Our USA Magazine by clicking here.
neat comments!
Jorge Guzman: "OMG! Awesome!"
_________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
September 5, 2013
Homeward Angle: RONALD REAGAN'S JELLY BEANS & MY FAVORITE DENTAL APPOINTMENT EVER
View original article and photos by clicking here. AND check out Susie's essay "This Happily Haunted House" in the latest edition of Our USA Magazine by clicking here.
Certainly, I am at that grand advanced age of entitlement! I deserve to savor jelly beans even more than I once did as a kid, so I visit Dr. Jim McConnell and his beautiful assistant Trudy (Sullivan) Deutsch about four extra times between each biannual smile maintenance effort performed by dental hygienist, and proud mother to three athletes, Jo Murphy.
Trudy and Jim repair my broken, brittle molars, incisors and "two front teeth" (the ones that create a favorable first impression -- or not!) Nobody ever warns me to stop imitating Ronnie "Dutch" Reagan, so the destructive pattern continues because I lack will power as much as I adore jelly beans.
Not only was Reagan the first president I bothered to vote for at my ripe old age of 34, but also I encountered the handsome actor in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1983, when "Little Roy" won a national writing contest and got invited to read aloud his prize-winning story at the National PTA Convention where the president, protected by a bullet-proof vest, spoke to the delegates. Thrilled at the prospect of breathing the same air as the 40th commander-in-chief who impressed us as every inch the tall strapping charismatic movie star, neither Roy nor I minded leaving our satchels in the lobby of the gorgeous convention center, nor were we frightened by the Secret Service agents surrounding the stage while facing out and glaring at the audience as Ronald stood at the podium. Reagan quite recently had survived an assassination attempt in these United States of America. To be perfectly honest, I voted twice for the star of "King's Row" and "Bedtime for Bonzo" because he had always reminded me of my dad Roy Duncan…they looked exactly alike and shared gentle temperaments, soft voices, charm, kindness, and the ability to delegate authority while standing back and allowing others to take credit for notable achievements.
My manager-dad and mom, I am quite sure, modestly spearheaded the concept for the local Blue Bell factory's "Stitch 'n Times" twice monthly newsletter-bulletins, published year after year. Interestingly, while on one of my many "jelly bean" emergency reconstruction trips to Dr. Jim's office, my protective goggles in place, my lanky bod comfortably positioned in a recumbent state, and my tongue stuck out while opening wide, Trudy tossed 14 of those precious periodicals onto my lap! Always appreciative of the complimentary floss, chap-stick, tube of Colgate and soft-bristled toothbrush gifted at each dental visit, that day I received a bonus from the grand-daughter of Blue Bell employee Floyd Sullivan. Her parents, Donald and Jeanette, insisted that I be given this particular stack of "Stitch 'n Times" issues, dating from the 40s to 1951.
I gazed up at the hovering, intent faces of Trudy and Jim and into a piercingly illuminating rectangular light fixture positioned over my head. I listened to their banter unable to add to their conversation as they had numbed my mouth. Each spoke of poring over the "Stitch 'n Times" issues and likened them to precursors of Facebook yet miraculously published prior to our whizzing digital age. Yes! The wildly popular "Social Network" itself! No small feat! Congrats to my folks and to all of the contributors to this terrific chronicle highlighting achievements, promotions, health and safety tips, human interest tales, "how to unfog glasses", flower fund committee reports, "The Art of Getting Along", photographs, illustrations, dates for entire plant vacation shut-downs, brides, soldiers, high school and college graduates, "DOS & DON"TS", hospitalizations, births, recipes, "Softball News", anecdotes, "New Faces", poetry, hobbies, "Your Inquiring Reporter", accounts of employees attending current movies or shopping or dining out, "Items for Sale" such as "a new deluxe bicycle never used" posted by Opal Krieg, announcement of a new bowling alley of eight lanes opening up locally with a suggestion for the formation of bowling leagues…plus, the cure for "athlete's foot"! Leaping Lizards!
Local names, events, places and advice pepper each volume: The Blue Bell Choraliers composed of 20 songstresses and directed by Mrs. B. V. Widney accompanied at the piano by Mrs. Sam Galbreath; Hulda Rivit; Stanley Mullendore; Bob Kellogg; Thomas Jack Heinley; Dick Wolfe; Clela Richard; Ethel Thorn; Wanda Dimmick; Heber Addis; Florence Puckett; Elmer Mohler; Robert Sharpe; and United States Army service induction records provided by World War II veterans Wendy Blain and Arthur Albert and Guy Sickafoose. "Alma Hurley has moved to a cottage at Big Lake." "Anyone having a good cure for blisters on heels, please get in touch with Phyllis Wince." "Sheilia, little daughter of Rose Richey, has returned to school following bronchial pneumonia." A Malabar proverb pops up: "Anger is like a stone cast into a wasp's nest." And the June 24, 1949 issue features a "Message to Parents if Polio Hits Your Community This Year" from "Women's Digest".
Loved this! "MUSIC WHILE YOU WORK: The music which you hear daily via the intercom system is designed primarily for the enjoyment of employees. When you have a large number of people working together it is a recognized fact that all records played will not suit every person… A survey will be conducted soon among employees to determine the type of music enjoyed by most." And this: "Take a look at those two open hands of yours (rather than clinched fists). They are tools with which to serve, make friends, and reach out for the best in life. Open hands open the way to achievement. Put them to work today!" ~ THE SILVER LINING "Fashion predicts that girls will be wearing their legs still shorter next year." "The automobile often changes recreation into wreckreation." A French proverb advises that "a father is a banker provided by nature." "Know thyself. Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive."
Other tidbits of philosophies, jokes, and truthiness: "The world is full of willing people. Some are willing to work; others are willing to let them." "Those anxious to invest in a going concern should make sure which way it's going." "A ship, to run a straight course, can have but one pilot and one steering wheel. The same applies to the successful operation of a business. There cannot be a steering wheel at every seat in an organization." (Jules Ormont) "A theory is a hunch with a college education." "History repeats itself because man keeps repeating his mistakes." "Good neighbor: One who smiles at you over the fence, but does not try to climb it." Mark Twain gets credited with: "They that value not praise will never do anything worthy of it. The sweetest of all sound is praise. True praise roots and spreads. I can live for two months on a good compliment." "If each drop in a rainstorm was four miles distant from the others, it would give an idea of space between the stars." "Women are divided into two classes -- those who don't believe everything their husbands tell them, and those who have no husbands."
Hilarious references focus upon employees' children -- a little boy wishes to fly to Reno to obtain a divorce from his parents and a young girl announces that she refuses to return to school tomorrow because, "I can't read and I can't write and they won't allow me to talk…so what's the use of going back?" Poetry details the harmfulness of rumors "flying door to door", and myriad one-liners appear such as, "Do you notice how the exclamation mark is being discarded? The reason is that people aren't surprised at anything these days." Mottos abound: "Horse sense is what keeps a horse from betting on people."
Bonnie Fahl, a newly hired felling operator who'd written for the local high school newspaper THE EAGLE, contributed an especially heart-warming essay entitled "My Impression of Blue Bell" praising the atmosphere of Southern hospitality emanating from the front office throughout the entire factory. She concluded with: " In giving my impression of Blue Bell, I can't help but commend its sanitary appearance and super cafeteria food. The men of Blue Bell have certainly endeavored to make the factory suit the people rather than the people suit the factory. Yes, my first impression of Blue Bell will last because its regard for us, the employees, is first." (March 14, 1947)
A couple of amusing 1948 entries entitled "Think as You Work" and "Tough Job Trying to Be a Man" segued into a curious short poem: "More often than not…One is forced to conclude…She pursues a career…When she isn't pursued" which struck me as a tad sexist in an era so closely identified with "Rosie the Riveter" during which droves of American females began to enter the workforce, but, hey, time warp quaintness ought to be forgiven. After all, I voted for "Ronnie" in the eighties, and I plan to vote for Hillary in 2016! We've come a long way, baby!
Special thanks to those long-ago editors Marjorie Cullimore Anders, Betty Bevington, and Bernice Cawker assisted by Jean Tenney, Ruth Brewer, Ruth Runion, Helen Rider and Alta Harman -- and to Donald and Jeanette Sullivan, Dr. McConnell, Trudy and Jo!
thanks for this feedback!
Susan Alcott Jardine: "Roy & Susie, thank you for sharing Susie's wonderful column. Those days were certainly worth chronicling in Susie's lively prose. She, that's you Susie, is a Gem. Hugs, Susan."
NJ Simon: "She continues to be delightful. Thanks, I needed that!"
Tari Joyce: "I loved it!!!"
Barb Nicholson: "Just now getting around to enjoying all these tidbits. I was enthralled with Ronald Reagan who was a handsome actor that became a great President of USA. Love the attached autographed photo!"
Kacie Casseira: "Needed something "light" to read - thanks!"
Diann T: "Thanks for sending me the articles that your mom writes, I look forward to them as they always make me smile. Thanks!!!!!"
_________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
Certainly, I am at that grand advanced age of entitlement! I deserve to savor jelly beans even more than I once did as a kid, so I visit Dr. Jim McConnell and his beautiful assistant Trudy (Sullivan) Deutsch about four extra times between each biannual smile maintenance effort performed by dental hygienist, and proud mother to three athletes, Jo Murphy.
Trudy and Jim repair my broken, brittle molars, incisors and "two front teeth" (the ones that create a favorable first impression -- or not!) Nobody ever warns me to stop imitating Ronnie "Dutch" Reagan, so the destructive pattern continues because I lack will power as much as I adore jelly beans.
Not only was Reagan the first president I bothered to vote for at my ripe old age of 34, but also I encountered the handsome actor in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1983, when "Little Roy" won a national writing contest and got invited to read aloud his prize-winning story at the National PTA Convention where the president, protected by a bullet-proof vest, spoke to the delegates. Thrilled at the prospect of breathing the same air as the 40th commander-in-chief who impressed us as every inch the tall strapping charismatic movie star, neither Roy nor I minded leaving our satchels in the lobby of the gorgeous convention center, nor were we frightened by the Secret Service agents surrounding the stage while facing out and glaring at the audience as Ronald stood at the podium. Reagan quite recently had survived an assassination attempt in these United States of America. To be perfectly honest, I voted twice for the star of "King's Row" and "Bedtime for Bonzo" because he had always reminded me of my dad Roy Duncan…they looked exactly alike and shared gentle temperaments, soft voices, charm, kindness, and the ability to delegate authority while standing back and allowing others to take credit for notable achievements.
My manager-dad and mom, I am quite sure, modestly spearheaded the concept for the local Blue Bell factory's "Stitch 'n Times" twice monthly newsletter-bulletins, published year after year. Interestingly, while on one of my many "jelly bean" emergency reconstruction trips to Dr. Jim's office, my protective goggles in place, my lanky bod comfortably positioned in a recumbent state, and my tongue stuck out while opening wide, Trudy tossed 14 of those precious periodicals onto my lap! Always appreciative of the complimentary floss, chap-stick, tube of Colgate and soft-bristled toothbrush gifted at each dental visit, that day I received a bonus from the grand-daughter of Blue Bell employee Floyd Sullivan. Her parents, Donald and Jeanette, insisted that I be given this particular stack of "Stitch 'n Times" issues, dating from the 40s to 1951.
I gazed up at the hovering, intent faces of Trudy and Jim and into a piercingly illuminating rectangular light fixture positioned over my head. I listened to their banter unable to add to their conversation as they had numbed my mouth. Each spoke of poring over the "Stitch 'n Times" issues and likened them to precursors of Facebook yet miraculously published prior to our whizzing digital age. Yes! The wildly popular "Social Network" itself! No small feat! Congrats to my folks and to all of the contributors to this terrific chronicle highlighting achievements, promotions, health and safety tips, human interest tales, "how to unfog glasses", flower fund committee reports, "The Art of Getting Along", photographs, illustrations, dates for entire plant vacation shut-downs, brides, soldiers, high school and college graduates, "DOS & DON"TS", hospitalizations, births, recipes, "Softball News", anecdotes, "New Faces", poetry, hobbies, "Your Inquiring Reporter", accounts of employees attending current movies or shopping or dining out, "Items for Sale" such as "a new deluxe bicycle never used" posted by Opal Krieg, announcement of a new bowling alley of eight lanes opening up locally with a suggestion for the formation of bowling leagues…plus, the cure for "athlete's foot"! Leaping Lizards!
Local names, events, places and advice pepper each volume: The Blue Bell Choraliers composed of 20 songstresses and directed by Mrs. B. V. Widney accompanied at the piano by Mrs. Sam Galbreath; Hulda Rivit; Stanley Mullendore; Bob Kellogg; Thomas Jack Heinley; Dick Wolfe; Clela Richard; Ethel Thorn; Wanda Dimmick; Heber Addis; Florence Puckett; Elmer Mohler; Robert Sharpe; and United States Army service induction records provided by World War II veterans Wendy Blain and Arthur Albert and Guy Sickafoose. "Alma Hurley has moved to a cottage at Big Lake." "Anyone having a good cure for blisters on heels, please get in touch with Phyllis Wince." "Sheilia, little daughter of Rose Richey, has returned to school following bronchial pneumonia." A Malabar proverb pops up: "Anger is like a stone cast into a wasp's nest." And the June 24, 1949 issue features a "Message to Parents if Polio Hits Your Community This Year" from "Women's Digest".
Loved this! "MUSIC WHILE YOU WORK: The music which you hear daily via the intercom system is designed primarily for the enjoyment of employees. When you have a large number of people working together it is a recognized fact that all records played will not suit every person… A survey will be conducted soon among employees to determine the type of music enjoyed by most." And this: "Take a look at those two open hands of yours (rather than clinched fists). They are tools with which to serve, make friends, and reach out for the best in life. Open hands open the way to achievement. Put them to work today!" ~ THE SILVER LINING "Fashion predicts that girls will be wearing their legs still shorter next year." "The automobile often changes recreation into wreckreation." A French proverb advises that "a father is a banker provided by nature." "Know thyself. Don't accept your dog's admiration as conclusive."
Other tidbits of philosophies, jokes, and truthiness: "The world is full of willing people. Some are willing to work; others are willing to let them." "Those anxious to invest in a going concern should make sure which way it's going." "A ship, to run a straight course, can have but one pilot and one steering wheel. The same applies to the successful operation of a business. There cannot be a steering wheel at every seat in an organization." (Jules Ormont) "A theory is a hunch with a college education." "History repeats itself because man keeps repeating his mistakes." "Good neighbor: One who smiles at you over the fence, but does not try to climb it." Mark Twain gets credited with: "They that value not praise will never do anything worthy of it. The sweetest of all sound is praise. True praise roots and spreads. I can live for two months on a good compliment." "If each drop in a rainstorm was four miles distant from the others, it would give an idea of space between the stars." "Women are divided into two classes -- those who don't believe everything their husbands tell them, and those who have no husbands."
Hilarious references focus upon employees' children -- a little boy wishes to fly to Reno to obtain a divorce from his parents and a young girl announces that she refuses to return to school tomorrow because, "I can't read and I can't write and they won't allow me to talk…so what's the use of going back?" Poetry details the harmfulness of rumors "flying door to door", and myriad one-liners appear such as, "Do you notice how the exclamation mark is being discarded? The reason is that people aren't surprised at anything these days." Mottos abound: "Horse sense is what keeps a horse from betting on people."
Bonnie Fahl, a newly hired felling operator who'd written for the local high school newspaper THE EAGLE, contributed an especially heart-warming essay entitled "My Impression of Blue Bell" praising the atmosphere of Southern hospitality emanating from the front office throughout the entire factory. She concluded with: " In giving my impression of Blue Bell, I can't help but commend its sanitary appearance and super cafeteria food. The men of Blue Bell have certainly endeavored to make the factory suit the people rather than the people suit the factory. Yes, my first impression of Blue Bell will last because its regard for us, the employees, is first." (March 14, 1947)
A couple of amusing 1948 entries entitled "Think as You Work" and "Tough Job Trying to Be a Man" segued into a curious short poem: "More often than not…One is forced to conclude…She pursues a career…When she isn't pursued" which struck me as a tad sexist in an era so closely identified with "Rosie the Riveter" during which droves of American females began to enter the workforce, but, hey, time warp quaintness ought to be forgiven. After all, I voted for "Ronnie" in the eighties, and I plan to vote for Hillary in 2016! We've come a long way, baby!
Special thanks to those long-ago editors Marjorie Cullimore Anders, Betty Bevington, and Bernice Cawker assisted by Jean Tenney, Ruth Brewer, Ruth Runion, Helen Rider and Alta Harman -- and to Donald and Jeanette Sullivan, Dr. McConnell, Trudy and Jo!
thanks for this feedback!
Susan Alcott Jardine: "Roy & Susie, thank you for sharing Susie's wonderful column. Those days were certainly worth chronicling in Susie's lively prose. She, that's you Susie, is a Gem. Hugs, Susan."
NJ Simon: "She continues to be delightful. Thanks, I needed that!"
Tari Joyce: "I loved it!!!"
Barb Nicholson: "Just now getting around to enjoying all these tidbits. I was enthralled with Ronald Reagan who was a handsome actor that became a great President of USA. Love the attached autographed photo!"
Kacie Casseira: "Needed something "light" to read - thanks!"
Diann T: "Thanks for sending me the articles that your mom writes, I look forward to them as they always make me smile. Thanks!!!!!"
_________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
August 25, 2013
I believed in a god once...
why is a wonderful animal rescue television show broadcast at 3 a.m. -- and absolute junk is broadcast during prime time...hey, if interested in "reality" tv, try www.animalrescuetv.com ...this program is absolutely wonderful.
the handsomest veterinarian I have ever seen stated that "there is no truer love in the world than that of an animal for a person." he saved the life of a precious little mutt and took the doll home... "a better world for animals and people" is the header for this divine programming! glad I am still awake...I usually am!
on the other end of the spectrum ...
interesting that extortion is another form of animal cruelty...just saw a tv spot about forcing a sweet lady to pay a vet bill for ten grand? or else?
I think kindness and compassion are not for sale anymore...MIA! they were always complimentary perhaps...and too many human beings have even forgotten how to be...complimentary? cash or credit cards only...or no service...compassion is on the installment plan. this poor lady had the sweetest face...and had already paid $1,300 and was advised that if she did not spring for 10 grand more she would be guilty of animal cruelty? guess what? another vet took care of the dog and the dog is now fine? she is suing the other vet. lots of folks try to figure out how to make money off animals....AND THAT IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT! been wondering when this would be addressed. notice many shelter pets that can be "sprung" if lots of money changes hands...including vet bills...pretty common on facebook posts. and if money does not change hands, the animal will be tossed dead into a trash receptacle. wow.
people whom I know too well throw the word "Christian" around and proceed to ignore the problems of this world and those who suffer needlessly. they seem only interested in increasing membership at newly constructed buildings. cults, rote information dispersed, allegiance to only other members, and right to life only for themselves and the unborn ... disregard for the slaughterhouses murdering pigs, calves removed from their mothers who will be artificially inseminated over and over and over, and ignoring full shelters of cats and dogs.
I love this statement from my friend Roland Vincent:
I believed in a god once...but their god...the god that only belongs to folks with their noses in the air? that god I do not recognize. only humans in real time can stop all of the second by second atrocities aimed at the helpless...the god I once believed in would love some help on that score. a little less time praying for each other over hang-nails...a little less time at church picnics...a little less time singing in the choirs...would free up human hands to reach out each second and save lives and soothe souls and really truly care about something besides bigger houses, more babies, vacations, trips to other countries, new cars, unpaid mounting bills, and groupthink. time to love they neighbor as thyself...and that includes all sentient beings!
we have survived some very frightening times in our lives and wondered truly if anybody cared even a tiny bit...and we were correct to do so...in spite of that I empathize even more than I did before with particularly the disenfranchised, that includes people and animals...no difference. I watch those who seem not to deserve the good times constantly coming their way due to their singleness of purpose (being self-love and jumping through the societal hoops and kissing up to the so-called landed gentry) and wonder how such shallowness ever works?
it should not.
stay strong and determined and as loving as you are. your intelligence and truthful nature will see you through...
so far, and I do mean so far, perseverance has worked for us...with very very very little support from others. an incredible lack of support. appreciation for sentient beings makes us special...we relate to fear and to sadness and uncertainty and we are aware of the fickleness of the human race...and as depressing as that may seem, it is nice to know whom and what we are dealing with so that we continue to care about others and that always includes those sentient beings who need humans who can relate to the incredible disregard animals endure.
we have landed on veganism ...you can, too ... the only way to go...eating cadavers and body parts and flesh is, needless to say, toxic to humans whose teeth were designed to eat vegetables and nuts and berries...first, we are kind and second, we benefit with good health from being kind...it's magic! absolute magic...and the folks who get rich on blood money can lend us their talents to green up the globe because they care that they have poisoned bajillions of us with their encouragement to devour mass-produced cadavers who were murdered en masse under very stressful conditions. the nightmare ends for all of us forever. and god will at last smile! because we figured out all by ourselves who the bad guys are...easy to do so...they are the ones counting their cash.
I am really quite grateful to have become empathetic through my own sadnesses. I would not give that quality up...I won it the hard way. so few people really work through problems together because we hide from each other...and hide behind bragging and exaggeration and hype ...it ain't easy but it will be worth it...believe me I can totally sympathize...and empathize!
appreciate this feedback so much!
Trish Shelton: "wow...this is so powerful...it really speaks the sad truth about how humans are just resistant to the plight of the animals. thanks for sharing this! ... I feel as though I have, by reading your post & then Susie's blog, come upon a hidden (to me) treasure! ♥"
Jenny Toulidakis: "That was beautifully written and so true."
_________________
Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
Meet other like-minded souls at my facebook fan page
Visit my author website at www.susieduncansexton.com
Join a great group of animal advocates Squawk Back: Helping animals when others can't ... Or won't
Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
the handsomest veterinarian I have ever seen stated that "there is no truer love in the world than that of an animal for a person." he saved the life of a precious little mutt and took the doll home... "a better world for animals and people" is the header for this divine programming! glad I am still awake...I usually am!
on the other end of the spectrum ...
interesting that extortion is another form of animal cruelty...just saw a tv spot about forcing a sweet lady to pay a vet bill for ten grand? or else?
I think kindness and compassion are not for sale anymore...MIA! they were always complimentary perhaps...and too many human beings have even forgotten how to be...complimentary? cash or credit cards only...or no service...compassion is on the installment plan. this poor lady had the sweetest face...and had already paid $1,300 and was advised that if she did not spring for 10 grand more she would be guilty of animal cruelty? guess what? another vet took care of the dog and the dog is now fine? she is suing the other vet. lots of folks try to figure out how to make money off animals....AND THAT IS AN UNDERSTATEMENT! been wondering when this would be addressed. notice many shelter pets that can be "sprung" if lots of money changes hands...including vet bills...pretty common on facebook posts. and if money does not change hands, the animal will be tossed dead into a trash receptacle. wow.
people whom I know too well throw the word "Christian" around and proceed to ignore the problems of this world and those who suffer needlessly. they seem only interested in increasing membership at newly constructed buildings. cults, rote information dispersed, allegiance to only other members, and right to life only for themselves and the unborn ... disregard for the slaughterhouses murdering pigs, calves removed from their mothers who will be artificially inseminated over and over and over, and ignoring full shelters of cats and dogs.
I love this statement from my friend Roland Vincent:
Let's stop calling them "shelters." They are cat and dog death camps! Using the word "shelter" suggests that animals will be protected. Unless it's No-Kill, it isn't a shelter!
I can understand the death culture among public "shelters," run by cities and counties by people who really don't care about animals. What I cannot fathom is the killing mania by people who profess to love animals. It seem...s they are so terrified of possible suffering by unwanted puppies, kittens, dogs, and cats that they would rather see them dead!
Would you kill a child because life might be cruel to him or her? Would you exterminate homeless people because they have a hard life on the streets? Is your own peace of mind more important to you than the lives of creatures who just want to live?
I believe in animals' rights. And the most basic animal right is the right of an animal to live.
I believed in a god once...but their god...the god that only belongs to folks with their noses in the air? that god I do not recognize. only humans in real time can stop all of the second by second atrocities aimed at the helpless...the god I once believed in would love some help on that score. a little less time praying for each other over hang-nails...a little less time at church picnics...a little less time singing in the choirs...would free up human hands to reach out each second and save lives and soothe souls and really truly care about something besides bigger houses, more babies, vacations, trips to other countries, new cars, unpaid mounting bills, and groupthink. time to love they neighbor as thyself...and that includes all sentient beings!
we have survived some very frightening times in our lives and wondered truly if anybody cared even a tiny bit...and we were correct to do so...in spite of that I empathize even more than I did before with particularly the disenfranchised, that includes people and animals...no difference. I watch those who seem not to deserve the good times constantly coming their way due to their singleness of purpose (being self-love and jumping through the societal hoops and kissing up to the so-called landed gentry) and wonder how such shallowness ever works?
it should not.
stay strong and determined and as loving as you are. your intelligence and truthful nature will see you through...
so far, and I do mean so far, perseverance has worked for us...with very very very little support from others. an incredible lack of support. appreciation for sentient beings makes us special...we relate to fear and to sadness and uncertainty and we are aware of the fickleness of the human race...and as depressing as that may seem, it is nice to know whom and what we are dealing with so that we continue to care about others and that always includes those sentient beings who need humans who can relate to the incredible disregard animals endure.
we have landed on veganism ...you can, too ... the only way to go...eating cadavers and body parts and flesh is, needless to say, toxic to humans whose teeth were designed to eat vegetables and nuts and berries...first, we are kind and second, we benefit with good health from being kind...it's magic! absolute magic...and the folks who get rich on blood money can lend us their talents to green up the globe because they care that they have poisoned bajillions of us with their encouragement to devour mass-produced cadavers who were murdered en masse under very stressful conditions. the nightmare ends for all of us forever. and god will at last smile! because we figured out all by ourselves who the bad guys are...easy to do so...they are the ones counting their cash.
I am really quite grateful to have become empathetic through my own sadnesses. I would not give that quality up...I won it the hard way. so few people really work through problems together because we hide from each other...and hide behind bragging and exaggeration and hype ...it ain't easy but it will be worth it...believe me I can totally sympathize...and empathize!
appreciate this feedback so much!
Trish Shelton: "wow...this is so powerful...it really speaks the sad truth about how humans are just resistant to the plight of the animals. thanks for sharing this! ... I feel as though I have, by reading your post & then Susie's blog, come upon a hidden (to me) treasure! ♥"
Jenny Toulidakis: "That was beautifully written and so true."
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Read about movies and nostalgia, animal issues and sociopolitical concerns all discussed in my book Secrets of an Old Typewriter - print and ebook versions available (click the title to order from publisher Open Books' website). Also available in both formats at Amazon.com, or download from iTunes
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Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl
