READ is a four-letter word

I grew up in a house of readers. My mother read mysteries; my father popular history with an emphasis on Civil War biographies. My sister preferred non-fiction as well, especially social histories and examinations of culture; my brother is a more eclectic reader who bounces back and forth and often recommends books to me. I read everything and have turned my love of reading into a career. Who knew?
Unlike a lot of people I know, I am a big proponent of phonics because that's how I was taught to read. I didn't know how to read when I entered school but I could recognize some words because one or the other of my parents read to me every night. (And more often than not it was my father, who loved, loved, loved words.  He knew that kids like the sound of silly words and he was a lawyer, so he taught us all phrases like posse comitatus and delighted in hearing us parrot them back. He also taught us the meaning. How many eight year olds can define the term? Which may explain why my brother became a lawyer, so he'd have a chance to use all those ornate Latin phrases.)
I was thinking about reading today as I read about the Teacher's Strike in  Chicago.
Education begins with reading  and reading needs to begin in childhood.  There are some great organizations out there to help encourage childhood reading and all of them are hurting for money in these difficult (understatement of the year) economic times. If you have a little spare change, consider donating it to Reading is Fundamental or Kids Need to Read.
For me, supporting causes like that is enlightened self-interest. Kids who read turn into people who buy books. I think of it as job security.

Cat and Snark--Internet goodness

Noir at the Bar--LA

Hope to see you there!

Saturday Sample Story--Boundaries

Photo by Dani Simmonds

I am re-editing the stories in my Twelve Nights of Christmas collection, which I had in the Kindle Prime program. As soon as the term runs out (two weeks from now), I am going to republish it with a new cover, re-branded as the 12 Nights of Christmas.  It'll be interesting to see how it does. I've been asking people how they liked their Kindle Prime experience and the answers have been amixed bag. Dani at Blog Book Tours (on FB) pointed me toward some people who were very, very happy with their results, but among my friends and colleagues, there hasn't been that much enthusiasm. I think for me, it comes down to the old, "Why leave money on the table?"  It's not that I sell large numbers of books at Barnes and Noble and Kobo, I don't. But I do sell some. And I just don't see "borrowing" translating to "sales." Thoughts?
Anyway, this is one of the stories from that collection, my version of "A Partridge in a Pear Tree." Enjoy.

Boundaries

Five families came west to Kansas, searching for a better life than the lives that had been shattered by the war. To begin with there were 16 adults and 14 children, three dogs, six goats, two cows, a small flock of chickens, three pigs and a stray kitten one of the children had picked up when the group passed through St. Louis.

The families arrived in summer and built their sod houses and planted small gardens for the kitchen and plowed their land to make it ready for the coming year.

They’d all been farmers back in Maryland, so they knew how harsh farming life could be.

At least they thought they knew until their first winter on their new land when the temperature reached minus 34 degrees and nearly one hundred inches of snow fell between October and March.

The flock of chickens didn’t survive, and one of the cows died too—even though the family that owned her kept her inside with them to keep her warm.

Feminist Friday: Equal Opportunity Political Iconography

We've all seen the iconic image of "Rosie the Riveter" rolling up her sleeves and proclaiming, "We Can Do It."  The image we know was created by Pittsburgh artist Howard Miller. the model was Geraldine Hoff Doyle, a 17-year-old working as a metal stamping machine operator in Ann Arbor.
It's such a powerful  image that even though Norman Rockwell later painted a "Rosie the Riveter" cover for Saturday Evening Post, the Miller poster is the one we remember.
And it's also the one that has been used ever since as a symbol of female empowerment by candidates and others on both sides of the political spectrum. During the 2008 campaign, there were several versions using GOP Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. The visual fit the candidate's roots and persona as a "can do" kinda gal, and you saw a lot of it.

In 2012, there being no women in the running, Michelle Obama has inherited the "We Can Do It"  image, which is sometimes captioned "Yes We Can," to echo the motto of her husband's 2008 campaign.
This campaign season, in one way or another, it has been all about the women. Both the Republicans and the Democrats showcased an amazing parade of smart women who represent the best their parties have to offer. It was thrilling to see all of them.
In the immortal words of Dirty Dancing--"Nobody puts Baby in the corner." Women voters will mostly likely decide who will be President come 2013. We can do it. Yes we can.

Quick Cuisine--Curried Brown Rice with Veggies

Photo by Vassilis Dourdounis

Things have been incredibly hectic this week at Chez Kattomic, and meals have been a rather haphazard affair. That's always a problem because you can only order pizza or make microwave nachos so many nights before you start running a nutrition deficit. Here's my go-to recipe for busy nights.

CURRIED BROWN RICE

WITH VEGETABLES AND SUNFLOWER SEEDS

1 cup brown rice

2 cups water

1 bag frozen mixed veggies (corn/peas/carrots/green beans)

Several ounces unsalted sunflower seeds (to taste, really. I like a lot of crunch)

2 TBSP. olive oil

salt to taste (I don't add salt if I'm making this just for myself, but will add it if sharing) 

Curry powder to taste (I like a lot, and I use a Madras curry blend) 

Prepare the brown rice as usual, but dump in everything else.  It will take a little while for the water to come back to a boil because of the frozen veggies but then just turn off and cover as usual.

This will serve two people heartily as a main dish and you only have to spend about five minutes at the stove.  It's kind of like fried rice without the egg and the olive oil makes it particularly satisfying.

Little Brother

Four years ago I wrote this story for a contest that challenged writers to come up with a tale about the newly elected president.  The winning story was terrific, an interior monologue the President had while smoking a cigarette bummed from a Secret Service Agent. I dug up this story after watching a night full of great speeches given by women at the DNC. Such amazing diversity--and I don't mean  ethnicity and race and creed. Sister Simone Campbell and Cecile Richards. (I remember Governor Ann Richards and think she would be very proud of her daughter.) And I thought of the women who broke the ground for the women who were at the podium tonight. The narrator in this story is one of those women who came before--a woman who once gave a keynote speech at the DNC herself.
This is the only piece of political fiction I've ever written. 

Little Brother

 

President Barack Obama came to Austin today.  Austin loves him.  When he and Joe Biden came through on the Obama-Rama campaign stop last year, the whole town went crazy.  This year the welcome is a bit more subdued, but still enthusiastic. 

He is here to make a speech and as he passed through the main terminal of the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, there were some who expected he would stop for a photo opportunity and maybe mention me.  Instead he joked with reporters about football and kept moving.  Well he was preaching to the choir there.  The reporters were all local boys and Texas is football country after all.  We’re known for it.  That and birthing beauty queens. 

I don’t begrudge the slight. He’s a man in a hurry, that Obama and if talking foolishness with a couple of good ol’ boys is what it takes to play the game, then so be it.  The game was different in my time but I still played to win, even when I knew the odds were stacked against me.  When I was mentioned as a possible running mate for Jimmy Carter in 1976, I knew that was never going to happen and just accepted it.  Although it would have been nice to be asked.

I didn’t go to Harvard Law school like the President, although Harvard started accepting my kind back in 1950.  Instead I got my degree from Boston University Law School and then went home to Texas before getting involved in politics.  John Connally was governor then.  He was a man I could work with.  Not like Dolph Briscoe who was a Democrat too but acted more like a Republican sometimes. 

We butted heads over the Voting Rights Act of 1965.  You remember, that was the one that extended the rights of language minorities.  Dolph didn’t really see the point.  Well, he wouldn’t, would he?  I didn’t find much to admire about the second president from Texas but I’ll say this.  He spoke Spanish like a native and could communicate with all his constituents back when he was governor.