This Day Will Go Down in History

      Thirty-four years ago, minus one day, I was in great pain. But after gathering together my family and close friends, the pain stopped.

      "What should I do now?" I asked my osteopath. He said, "Walk. Walk as much as you can. The act of walking with begin things again."

       It was unseasonably warm on December 20, 1979--just like it was yesterday during the day. I walked the streets around my Maplewood home and eventually, things did start up again. The contractions returned and again my family and friends were summoned. When the evening of December 21 arrived, so had my beautiful daughter.

     After my baby girl was checked out and declared perfect, the doctor and my mom--along with my mother-in-law and my adopted grandma--had cake and coffee. I cuddled up with the best early Christmas present anyone has ever gotten. *

     Happy birthday, Virginia. You're the most wonderful daughter and the best mother.

* Note: In the 1970's, I worked at St. Anthony's Hospital and discovered that women were shaved (not their armpits) and an enema given before delivering. This was standard operating procedure.

Since I wanted to be a little more control of what happened, I chose to have my baby at home, without drugs. An incredible osteopath, Dr. Fred Duhart, did home deliveries. He delivered my daughter and eight years later, delivered my son.

 And if you want to take a break from holiday shopping on Monday (Dec. 23) and you live in the St. Louis area, Lynn Obermoeller and Linda O'Connell will be reading their "I will survive" stories from the Gloria Gaynor collection. It's at the Gelateria, 3197 S. Grand and begins at 7:00. 

Ice cream and some great writing? What can be better than that...  

The Brain and the Heart

       There are books that have--at their center--a character that is the heart of the story. That character is the conduit of the emotional current that runs through the book.

       Currently, I am working on writing a story and have--as the main character--a woman with a bruised heart. She has some twisted schemes up her sleeve. I'm hoping that as the tale evolves, the connecting thread will hold it together...

       A week ago, I saw the movie Twelve Years a Slave. One reviewer said that the Solomon character was the brain of the movie, but the Patsy character was the heart. I could not agree more...

       Imagine you are free. You have a family--a wife and children. You are respected in your community. And after he makes a single choice, he ends up enslaved...for the next twelve years.

       I highly recommend this film. It is emotionally draining. It focuses on a dark period of American history, and is based on a true story. But the acting and the cinematography is impeccable.