Turning Back the Clock

This Saturday, we will host a party at our house for a group of friends I’ve known for a very long time. I started kindergarten with most and attended high school with many of them. Who are they? Grammar school friends. We’ll celebrate the 55^th anniversary of our elementary school graduation.

These are the people who graduated from Marguerita Elementary School in June of 1960. We had two classes. Both teachers and our principal, Mr. Charles Clark, are also in the photo.

Pictured are:

Row 1: Larry Miller, Bill Boller, Dennis Anderson, Jim Macnider, Tim Washburn, Cherie McMillan, Kathleen Huber, Ann Stephenson, Pamela Nassief, Peggy Boone, Diana Dean, Mrs. Anderson (teacher).

Row 2: Joe Samson, Mike Eldridge, Mike Holahan, Ray McCollum, Larry Poe, Jill Carlson, Pama Pace, Jeanne Kohl, Joyce Thomas, Pamela Ball, Elaine Ellis, Kathy Nisbett, Janie Comer.

Row 3: Mr. Charles Clark (principal), Stan Schobert, Fred Bunge, Fred Morzov, Hector Ferreira, Jack Nester, Rebecca Rocha, Rochelle Ramirez, Elaine Nelson, Jane Harrison, Kay Doebler, Barbara (Bege) Davis), Mary Ann Schildknecht.

Row 4: Mr. Lamont (teacher), Donald Sloggy, Michael Tabulara, Larry Lavender, Louis Gargaro, Tom Onstine, Willie Gibson, Betty Spindler, Susan Maxwell, Jo Anna Romick, Marie Stratton, Deanna LeRoy.

Row 5: Andy Weiss, Dick McKeown, Bob Van Dermolen, Chuck Smith, Michael Poe, Chuck Usher, Suzanne Van Clief, Joanne Bellino, Jackie Harris, Trudie Suerth, Janet Woodfield, Victoria Hanner.

Row 6: Bill Sasz, Bill Tully, Gary Benjamin, Bob Rosecrans, Dennis Morrison, Walter White, Ray Manthorne, Tom Stelzreid, Jannie de Krieger, Jane Griffith, Mary Jane Jewel, Lorna Lund, Helen Cloos, Susan Tabulara, Jo Anne De Petro.

In some ways it’s sad to look at the photo. Several of these folks are gone: Jim Macnider, Tim Washburn, Pam Nassief, and Helen Cloos. Mr. Clark, Mrs. Anderson, and Mr., Lamont have also passed away.

We located most of the rest for our high school reunion in September of last year, but a few remain elusive.

Saturday’s party will not only include those from my school but also graduates from two other schools in the area: Fremont Elementary and St. Thomas More.

We all lived in close proximity to one another, swam at the park, took part in Little League and other sports, and attended church together.

Judging from last year’s high school reunion, you can’t go home again. Actually, there’s little left in Alhambra, where we grew up, to bring back childhood memories. But it is possible to reclaim precious friendships from the past.

Many of those who will attend on Saturday also came to the high school reunion last September. We discovered we still like each other and have enjoyed learning about what has happened to us during the intervening years.

Not so long ago the idea of a grammar school reunion seemed pretty strange to most people, but they have now become pretty commonplace.

Those of us who have planned this one have already had a lot of fun. We’re excited to see everyone and to share our common memories of a bygone time. Many of us started in school together in kindergarten and continued through high school. In those days, folks were less transient. We lived in the same houses for many years. Some of the group still live in the homes in which they were raised.

The house is ready. The catering order has been placed. The invitations and responses have been sent and received. Come Saturday, it will be party time!

Have you stayed in touch with your friends from early childhood? Have you attended a grammar school reunion? Would you like to?

About Pauline Collins

Today I’d like to talk about an often overlooked and under-appreciated British actress, Pauline Collins (no relation). She can hold her own against the likes of Dame Judy Densch, Dame Maggie Smith, and Dame Helen Miren, yet American audiences don’t seem to be aware of her.

I first discovered her years ago in the film Shirley Valentine. Shirley is a bored middle-aged British woman whose life is turned on end when a friend invites her for a holiday in Greece. Pauline originated the role in the one-woman stage play, for which she garnered several awards. The movie retains much of the wit and most of the terrific lines of the play, and Pauline Collins shines as the mousy woman who discovers herself while on a break from her everyday life.

I next remember her stealing the spotlight in the movie Paradise Road as Mrs. Drummond. This film is the true story of women prisoners of war during WWII who form an orchestra using only their voices. The music in the film was created using the actual scores written in the camp. Mrs. Drummond is heartbreakingly real. She is the most memorable character in a cast of phenomenal actresses. The story is a powerful tale of hope and survival.

This film with its ensemble cast of acting powerhouses was Dustin Hoffman’s directorial debut and one of my favorite films of 2012. Quartet tells the story of senior citizens who now live in a home for retired musicians. 

Billy Connolly plays an elfin character whose stroke has left him with no governor. He speaks and behaves without thinking. But the twinkle in his eye makes him charming and a delight.

Tom Courtenay and Dame Maggie Smith’s characters were briefly married many years before. They are now faced with living in close quarters again and are forced to deal with the issues that ended their marriage.

But the most memorable character for me is Pauline Collins’s Cissy. This character suffers from senile dementia. Watching her took me back to the years when my mother left us a bit at a time with the same affliction. Pauline’s performance is spot on—heartbreakingly so. At the end of the day, hers is the character I remember.

This is an absolutely joyful film about triumph over adversity. If you see it, be sure to watch all the behind-the-scenes extras on the DVD. Most of the actors in this film are former and current performers, and the music is phenomenal. I loved it so much I bought the CD before the DVD was released.

Of course, I had to own the DVD. In fact, I own all of these and have to re-watch them periodically.

If you have not seen these three films, rent them. Every time I see them, I am reminded how much I love them. These are only three among Pauline Collins’s impressive filmography, but when you see them, I’m certain you will understand why I respect and appreciate the talent of this under-valued actress.

Have you seen her work? Do you have a favorite?

Ghosts and Why I Write About Them

Today I welcome one of my favorite authors and good friend, Marilyn (F.M.) Meredith. I asked her why she wrote about a ghost in her latest book, Violent Departures. Since my own book Ghost Writer, features a ghost, I wanted to know why she chose one as a character.

My host for today posed this question, and it’s a good one.

Stories in my Deputy Tempe Crabtree series often have ghosts in them. Tempe is a Native American and she’s quite open to the spirit world. I’ve done a lot of research about spirits and ghostly visitations for this series and other books I’ve written.

I’ve never had a ghost in my Rocky Bluff P.D. series before, but there is one in ViolentDepartures. I’m not going to tell you about it because I don’t want to spoil the story.

I’m not sure how I feel about ghosts, but the idea has always intrigued me. Perhaps they are just a residue of a person, a remembrance that remains in a place, or maybe as some have said, they are not ready to move on or have unfinished business that is keeping them here.

My grandkids think the house hubby and I call home is haunted. Yes, doors do open and close on their own, and our two big cats have always acted like they see things we don’t. Does it bother us? No, because I don’t think ghostly beings can do any harm.

Hubby and I have stayed in a few reportedly haunted places. The Menger Hotel in San Antonio is one. It’s a beautiful old hotel built in 1859. My experience with a ghost there happened at night. Someone kept knocking on a nearby door. I finally stepped into the hall to see what the problem was. The knocking continued, but no one was there.

Room 17 in the Bella Maggiore Inn in Ventura CA is supposed to be haunted by a prostitute. Of course we asked for that room—but no ghost. Daughter said it was because I was there with my husband. Because it’s an old hotel, it does have the ambience of having ghostly residents.

And then there’s the Queen Mary in Long Beach, CA. We’ve stayed there several times. It’s fun to take the ghost tour where you can see manufactured ghosts. One time when I left an event and came down in the elevator to my deck, I was completely disoriented. Nothing looked the same as it had earlier. I felt like I’d stepped back in time. I couldn’t find my room. I went to the center of the deck, turned around and walked back and everything returned to normal.

That’s as close as I can come to telling you why I write about ghosts.

If you’ve had a ghostly encounter, do write about it in the comments.

F. M. aka Marilyn Meredith

Blurb for Violent Departures:

College student, Veronica Randall, disappears from her car in her own driveway, everyone in the Rocky Bluff P.D. is looking for her. Detective Milligan and family move into a house that may be haunted. Officer Butler is assigned to train a new hire and faces several major challenges.

F.M. Meredith, also known as Marilyn Meredith, is the author of over thirty published novels. Marilyn is a member of three chapters of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and on the board of the Public Safety Writers of America. Besides having family members in law enforcement, she lived in a town much like Rocky Bluff with many police families as neighbors.

Contest:

Because it has been popular on my other blog tours, once again I’m offering the chance for the person who comments on the most blog posts during this tour to have a character named for him or her in the next Rocky Bluff P.D. mystery.

Or if that doesn’t appeal, the person may choose one of the earlier books in the series—either a print book or Kindle copy.

Links:

Webpage: http://fictionforyou.com/

Blog: http://marilynmeredith.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/marilynmeredith

I tackled the topic of reading reviews of my books at http://jlgreger.blogspot.com/ and you can read it tomorrow.

Cliffhangers

Did you ever go to the movies on a Saturday as a child? If you’re old enough, you might remember seeing several cartoons, a double feature (two movies), and a serial for your fifty cents. Okay, that officially makes me old!

Larry went nearly every week with a friend as a kid. His favorite serials were the Flash Gordon ones. Each week, the theater would show a new ‘chapter.’ At the end of each one, Flash was left in an impossible situation. Larry felt compelled to return the following week to see how Flash escaped.

In writing classes, most instructors teach their students to make the beginning of each chapter a ‘grabber’—a sentence constructed to make the reader want to read on. The end of each chapter should be a ‘cliffhanger’ to force the reader to turn the page and start the next chapter.

Larry learned these lessons well from all those old movie serials. In his latest books, The McGregor Chronicles, he embraces both devices.

The first sentence in Book 1 – Saving Mike is:

“Wake up, Matt, wake up,” an insistent voice repeats in my head.

The reader immediately asks, “Who is this? Is he talking to himself? Is it a dream?”

As the chapter progresses, even more questions arise, and some are answered.

The last sentence in the chapter is:

“Okay, let’s see if we can get this ship moving.”

The sentence implies the possibility of failure. The reader has to move on in order to find out if the ship will fly.

Several people who read this book have said they read it in one sitting, or they stayed up too late to finish, or they couldn’t put it down. Our beta readers for Book 2 – Escape From Eden (to be published this summer) have had the same reaction to it.

As writers, we all need to learn how to construct our chapters in the same manner. As readers, we love writers who are able to accomplish it.

The proviso, however, is that the reader should never be aware of the use of the devices! They must be part of the story and invisible to the reader.

Are you a writer? Can you use these devices effectively? Are you deliberate about how you encourage your readers to continue reading?

Are you a reader? How do you feel about compelling writing, which makes it impossible for you to stop in the middle?