I was so excited when I discovered this box of 50 colorable postcards. I thought our family could send a different card to my great-niece once a week. What a great way to engage a young mind with nature and the joys of learning and corresponding! Our only disappointment is all fifty cards are not different. There appears to be two of each. I will have to find some other animal postcards to send alternately.
For many it’s a fragrance that brings a memory fully to mind. Does the scent of evergreens, peppermint, mulling spices, or mothballs unwrap the holidays of the past for you?
Or is the feel of glitter, velvet, ice, or the deep warmth of a fire that makes you recall?
Which gustatory delight takes you back with its taste? Popcorn balls, chocolate covered cherries, or hot cocoa?
Is it the sound of bells, the shattering of ornaments, the tinkle of a music box, or the hoot of a toy train that harkens you to a certain moment?
Or is it the sight of glistening snow, tinsel strewn trees, or mountains of crumpled wrapping paper?
Whatever the sense, savor the memory and write it down.
Recently, I’ve been exploring the use of a commonplace book for myself and for my students. My Inlandia Literary Journeys column for this morning appeared in The Press Enterprise, The Inland Valley Bulletin, and the San Bernardino Sun.
I just finished reading Margarita Engle’s Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings: A Memoir. Engle magically describes her childhood and early teen years as she travels between California and Cuba just before the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In light of the current attack on media, I was heartened by the closing lines of her poem “Secret Languages”:
“Right wing or left wing, tyrants always
try to control communication.
They always
fail.”
Charlotte Davidson’s March 2nd column in The Press Enterprise, “Get busy writing if you dislike today’s political situation,” also gave me courage to continue to write.
Whatever one’s perspective in these fast-moving tumultuous times, the opportunities to make or to record history present themselves daily. I need to write more. Thank you, Margarita and Charlotte, for reminding me of the pendulum swings of history and the importance of communication.
David Stone 