Catching up

Wow! Thanks to everyone who came to hear Jon Colman (www.colmanmusic.com)perform yesterday at the DUMBOArts Festival in Brooklyn. What a setting--Buzzito's beside the East River with a spectacular view of Manhattan on a beautiful day. I'll post some terrific video when I figure out how to do that.

I'm sorry to get behind on my blog posts, although the reason is forward moving, i.e., the page proofs arrived for Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: A Friendship that Changed the World. Since this is the last time I get to make corrections or changes, I went into total obsessive mode for a couple of week, surfacing only to teach my class at Teachers College & pick up Sophie for an overnight, actually two overnights. There were stray commas from the copy editing stage to delete, facts to triple check, photos that somehow could mixed up in the production process, and a missing source that drove me crazy until I finally tracked it down! Anyhow I just got a grateful email from my editor re my "thoughtful and thorough job." I also scheduled my first book signing; it's at the Gerrit Smith Estate Historic Site in Peterboro, NY on August 27, 2010. Gerrit was ECS's cousin, and the father of Elizabeth Smith Miller, ECS's lifelong friend who is credited with introducing Bloomers.

Save the Date

Come if you can to Jon Colman Acoustic Show at the Dumbo Arts Festival--Fulton Landing, Sept 26, 1-2 p.m. www.colmanmusic.com
www.dumboartsfestival.com

Fun Time!

Wow! I turned 66 yesterday and had a fabulous celebration with my precious family! l-r: Linda, me, Katrin, Jonathan, Steve, Crystal, David, and, of course, Sophie! The band at Havana Central at the West End played a rousing salsa Happy Birthday accompanied by hearty singing, it seemed by most everyone in the restaurant & at the bar; in my youth I would have been under the table with embarrassment, but I'm so glad to be alive & loved that I went along with the fun of it all! (click to enlarge photo)

Sophie's back

Finally got some Shore time this summer--3 overnights with Sophie: we rode a rollercoaster (her idea) & laughed and laughed, dribbled a basketball, crocheted bracelets, and saw the fox! Returned home tonight to find an email from my editor with news that my forthcoming book, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony: A Friendship that Changed the World has an official publication date--May 10, 2011!! Hip, hip, hurrah!!!

Women's Equality Day

90 years ago on August 26th, women finally won the right to vote when the 19th Amendment became part of the U.S. Constitution. Established by Congress as Women's Equality Day, August 26th is a day to mark the long and fierce battle to win a right that in 2010 many people take for granted. The Territory of Wyoming granted women that right in 1869. In 1870, Louisa Gardner Swain, who lived in Laramie, was the first woman in Wyoming to cast her ballot. During our road trip to Yellowstone in May, Linda & I stopped in Laramie, to photograph this statue to Louise Swain.
Last year Sophie, Linda & I celebrated Women's Equality Day with a tour of Alva Belmont's mansion in Newport, RI, where Alva held suffrage fund raising events, much to the consternation of her conservative neighbors. This year we'll spend it at a barrier island off the coast of New Jersey, the home state of Alice Paul the fearless suffragist who was jailed & force fed as she led the final push to win the vote.

wildlife spottings and a book

I was transfixed by an array of zinnias in a formal garden at the New Jersey State Botanical Garden (yes, there is such a place in Ringwood State Forest located in the relatively unpopulated northwest part of the state) when a large, dark shape edged into my line of vision.
"Pets aren't allowed here," I thought as my brain sorted through breeds to match the shape. Just as I settled on "Afghan Hound . . . ," I heard Linda gasp--"Bear!" It was about 20 feet away and oblivious to us--what a thrill. A day later, we were walking along the beach to the end of Barnegat Peninsula in Island Beach State Park (one of my all-time favorite walks) when we got a good long look at a black & white shore bird with a long bright orange bill that we had never seen before. "That's an Oystercatcher," I said, having no idea where I got that name, except perhaps from the gazillion of books I've read with Sophie about animals and nature.
Driving out of the park, Linda shouted "Fox!" And there it was, close enough to the car to reach out and pet, which of course we didn't!
On our way home, we stopped at the Ben Franklin store stuffed with everything from trinkets to towels to toys to books. Holding a copy of a book, Linda exclaimed, "It was an Oystercatcher!" And there it was illustrated by Barbara Patrizzi on the cover of her book O is for Oystercatcher: A Book of Seaside ABCs. Delighted that I had somehow from somewhere retrieved that name, I bought the book, which is a beautiful book published by Down the Shore Publishing, a reminder of what readers give up when they limit themselves to Kindles & Nooks (which I'm not against, but there is something so special about the look, the feel of a carefully, lovingly written, illustrated, produced book.)

Sophie aboard the Research Vessel Oceanic on Long Island Sound about to release a whelk after it had been examined, measured and catalogued. (See previous post)

Sophie and Grammy Adventures

Thanks to those of you who have reminded me that it's been awhile since my last post. I've been juggling adventures with Sophie, who is now in Switzerland & two weeks in Crete with her European relatives until the end of August. Before she left, I took her on an activity-packed road trip, including, now that she is six, the "Whales Up Close" program at Mystic Aquarium with Kelly, a trainer, and a beluga whale named Keyla. First Kelly explained and with Keyla demonstrated training methods. We felt Keyla's melon (beluga whale's enlarged forehead where it produces a variety of vocalizations), gave her hand signals for different vocalizations, and patted her tongue (positive reinforcement, Kelly explained); from beginning to end it was an astonishing, amazing experience!
The following week, on a blistering hot day, we spent 2 1/2 hours on the Research Vessel Oceanic, a 40-foot trawler that does marine research on Long Island Sound. Sophie threw in a seine net, helped haul in a large net, sort through what the dredge brought up, catalogue all the marine life in the net and throw it--flounder, whelk, snails, crabs--back into the Sound. The crew/educators were terrific & the experience fascinating.

Terrific girls and Moms and women's history tour

Last Saturday I led a women's history tour in New York City with a terrific group of girls and their mothers! I had donated the tour as an item for the auction to raise money for Sophie's school and the Mom of a 7th grader made the winning bid. We met at Eleanor Roosevelt's statue at 72nd and Riverside Drive at noon on a very hot day. Three hours and several subway stops to visit sites, including Anna Hyatt Huntington's magnificent sculpture, Joan of Arc, and The Stanton, the apartment building where Elizabeth Cady Stanton died, we ended at 155th where this picture was taken by a willing dog walker. We're standing in front of the bronze doors at the American Academy of Arts and Letter, which are "Dedicated to the Memory of Mary E. Wilkins Freeman and the Women Writers of America."

I met a wonderful group of women yesterday when I spoke at the
Emmanuel Cancer Foundation's event, "A Classical English Afternoon Tea with a Splash of Generosity." Established in 1983, ECF provides free, in-home support for New Jersey's pediatric cancer patients and their families. Yesterday's event was to honor the mothers of children who have cancer. In recognition of the EFC Moms, I presented "Celebrating Women, Especially Mothers," in which I highlighted historic women, including Abigail Adams, Sacajawea, Sojourner Truth, Elizabeth Cady Stanton and their role as mothers. Rita Slatterly, an ECF volunteer who invited me to speak, took this picture. From l to r: Elsa Saucedo, an ECF Mom, me, Yanira Ceara, an ECF caseworker. The link to ECF is: www.emmanuelcancer.org.

Serendipitous Meeting and Churro Sheep

During our recent road trip through Wyoming, we serendipitously discovered Polly Hinds, a dynamic used bookseller & sheep rancher who introduced us to the Churro sheep. This morning I happened to hear an NPR piece on the Churro, "Sacred Sheep Revive Navajo Tradition, for Now." Here's my video of Polly & one of her Churros (the background noise is the sound of the Wyoming wind) & a link to the NPR piece
and the Navajo Sheep Project (the logo on Polly's Hat)www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127797442 Note: The NPR story left out a critical piece of the story: it was the Navajo women who hide & tended to the Churro sheep in the canyons for forty years. The NPR story appears to give all the credit for their recovery to the male professor.
Here's a link to a great story about how Polly & her partner & their adventures:
http://www.newwest.net/city/article/mad_dog_and_the_pilgrim_booksellers/C101/L101/

Celebrating Women

Despite being in the throes of a systemic case of poison ivy (& I have no idea how I got it 'cause I'm really careful considering how allergic I am to it!!??), today I'm giving a speech, "Celebrating Women, Especially Mothers!" at the Emmanuel Cancer Foundation Benefit's English Tea. The invitation said that hats are optional & given the splotches on my face, perhaps I should wear one with a very broad brim!

Road trip and manuscript update

We're back from our road trip from Denver, Colorado, (where I was born many years ago) to Yellowstone. We left NJ with the trees in full leaf, which is why we were surprised to find a snow/ice scraper in the trunk of our rental car! Then we arrived in Yellowstone; snow was piled high beside the mountain roads, and snow squalls blew in & out during our drives & walks, including one with a cold wind & "ice balls," as Linda called them when we were at the West Thumb Geyser Basin (photo). Needless to say, we were glad to have the scraper.
So, did I finish checking the copyedited manuscript of my forthcoming book, Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony: A Friendship that Changed History, that arrived the day before we left? (See previous post.) Yes, by working many hours, including some in the Denver airport (photo).

Connections, ECS/SBA

My dear, dear friend Annie Unverzagt & I were roommates in graduate school 44 years ago! We went on to have flip-flop life trajectories: I had children first, then a career; she had a career and then children. We kept in touch via Christmas cards until a couple of year ago when we reconnected in person. What a special treat!! She was in NYC for a few days & today we ignored the chilly rain to see the engaging exhibit, "Emily Dickinson's Garden: The Poetry of Flowers," at the New York Botanical Garden.
After a stimulating, joyous day of catching up, I arrived home to discover the copyedited manuscript of my forthcoming book, Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Susan B. Anthony: A Friendship that Changed History, waiting for me with a letter from editor saying she needs it back ASAP. Since Linda & I leaving early tomorrow morning & traveling until the 26th, guess what's coming with us in the red bag--to quote Linda, "What's a vacation without a manuscript."

Yellowwood

There's a wonderful path along the Hudson River that runs about a mile between the Englewood Boat Basin and Ross Dock Park, which in just north of the George Washington Bridge. Yesterday when Linda & I were walking there, we detected a light, fresh, sort-of-like honeysuckle-but-not-so-sweet fragrance (describing smells is an interesting writing challenge!?) in the air. We followed our noses to these loose clusters of white flowers cascading from branches that poked here and there through a tangle of trees, vines, & bushes. Checking my favorite tree guide: New York City Trees, written & illustrated by Edward Sibley Barnard, I discovered we had found Yellowwood trees, which, according to Barnard, only grow naturally in the southern Appalachian Mountains of TN and adjacent states, and in portions of Missouri and Arkansas. Pioneers used the bark of the roots to make a yellow dye. I returned this morning with my camera so I could post this picture.

Sophie's School

Stephanie Leung, Sophie's wonderful first grade teacher, emailed me photographs she took during my recent author visit to P.S. 334 in New York City. Sophie & her classmates are already serious and skilled writers. I had fun showing them my PowerPoint (with zooming words, etc.)and answering their interesting questions about my job.

Author Visit

Last week I made a return author visit to Marie Russell's 6th grade classes at P.S. 174 in Rego Park, NY. Last semester Marie, who is a highly skilled & creative teacher, used my book Where the Action Was: Women War Correspondents in World War II, as a class read aloud. In December, I went to the school to talk to her terrific students. They were just as terrific the second time I visited! Good luck to all of them as they graduate and go to middle school next fall!

Nonfiction Rocks!

Last night I wrapped up my teaching career as a Distinguished Lecturer at Queens College, the City University of New York. I was delightedly surprised when Christine Schachter arrived at my Nonfiction Literature class with this very cool & delicious cake. David J. Jansen took the photo. Thank you to my former and current students who have made my years at Queens so stimulating, rewarding, and fun!

Speaking and 3 Springs

I'm back from speaking at the 3rd Annual Nonfiction Institute at the University of Maine. In my mind, I think it's about a five hour drive, except that's just to the border, the University is another 3 hours north! Sophie was hoping I'd see a moose, but I didn't, although I did see periodic warning signs to watch out for moose along the Maine Turnpike. I've been making the trip for a number of years, and, as always, I stopped in Wells, Maine, to walk through the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge and indulge in two nearby establishments--one the Maine Diner where I thoroughly enjoyed a hearty helping of Indian Pudding (mixture of molasses & corn meal topped with vanilla ice cream, which I've loved since I was a kid). The other at Douglas H. Harding Used Book Store where I bought a bunch of books. I did that going on Thursday and returning on Saturday. The weather was gorgeous and Spring was in the early stages, which was cool because my first sight of Spring this year was when I went to Washington & Baltimore in March, then it unfolded in New Jersey, and now it's emerging in Maine. Having three Springs this year reminded me of Edwin Way Teale's book, North with the Spring: A Naturalist's Record, that I read many years ago. Teale and his wife Nellie started on a long road trip in the Florida Everglades and headed north to follow the arrival of Spring.
The pictures are: the marker to Rachel Carson with a view of the salt marshes and estuary and ocean in the distance and me talking about making the writing/reading connection.

Author Visit

Today, I had fun doing an Author Visit with Sophie's first grade class at PS 334, The Anderson School in New York City. I showed a PowerPoint about how I write both fiction and nonfiction stories. The kids were delighted with the words I had animated to zoom & swish & asked great questions! Together we read a shape poem I wrote titled, "Who Writes?"
Tomorrow I drive to Maine where, on Friday, I'm speaking at the 3rd Annual Nonfiction Institute at the University of Maine, which means that I'd better sign off and pack!