Peering Through Life's Window

Reverend Keith Boyer who grew up in New York City shares a little known story about his native town. A Nearly Forgotten New York Story In the 1950’s I lived on East 6th Street in New York City. While normally taking a bus to school, I occasionally walked following a route that took me through Tompkins Square Park. The park was home to a simple and what appeared to be long-neglected fountain. It was just something to walk by. It wasn’t until 2004 that I learned the fountain had been built as a memorial to the 1,021 New Yorkers who lost their lives on June 15, 1904 in a fire on the excursion ship General Slocum. On that bright sunny day, over 1300 people, mostly women and children who had emigrated from Germany, crowded aboard the ship at the East River’s 3rd street pier in anticipation of a day of fun at the Locust Grove picnic grounds on Long Island. The excursion had become an annual congregational event of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church. Over 1500 tickets had been sold. The church, now l...

SOMETHING COOL GOING ON… On Tuesday, July 27th , join me for an interview at Long and Short Reviews, www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR/interviews.htm I’ll talk about writing and reveal the secret ingredient in my pecan pie recipe. On Wednesday, July 28th, I’ll chat on the Long and Short Reviews yahoo site at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LongadnShortRomanceReviews I was in Destin, Florida recently. I went tar ball hunting and found none! The beach is beautiful. I’d love to tell you about it. Also, I’ll be giving away a four-inch painted tile with a beach scene and a two-way metal rack. To find out how to win stop by for the interview and the chat. See you there!

Today, I’m happy to have Miss Mae, the founder of The Sweetest Romance Authors. About them she says, “We enjoy the kinder, gentler romances our mothers and grandmothers grew up with.” But, she’s quick to point out that these are not boring stories. Be sure to stop by her Web site after the interview to pick up a free download of “Fated Destiny.” It’s http://www.missmaesite.com Hi Miss Mae. First, tell us a little about yourself. So, can I blow my own horn here? LOL Okay, I’m awed to say that my books, “Said the Spider to the Fly”, “See No Evil, My Pretty Lady”, “Dove Island”, “When the Bough Breaks”, “It’s Elementary, My Dear Winifred” are all award winning best sellers. On the personal side, I’ve been happily married to the same Georgia country boy that I met 38 years ago. Our one daughter is married, so we replaced her absence with the company of four orphaned, very noisey canines! Congratulations on your success. Were you an avid reader as a child? What did you read? Yes, I loved to...

My daughter and I love to bargain shop. But we browse more than we buy. Many times after we get inside a store and go to a particular display we’re the only two people there. We pick up items and discuss them. If we really get interested in something, whether it’s clothing, cosmetics, accessories or gifts and books, we study it. If it’s a book, we make sure the print, pages and binding are intact. If it’s jewelry, and it’s supposed to have a necklace and earrings, we look to see if it has both. But this isn’t a piece about how to bargain shop. Usually after we’ve been at a station for a while people flock around us. Then it’s extremely difficult to get to the merchandise. My daughter always asks, “Why is no one interested in this stuff until we start looking at it?” I say, “I don’t know. Let’s look somewhere else, and they’ll leave in a little bit.” One day my daughter complained to one of her friends about people in the stores rooting us out of our territory. Her friend said, “You pro...

AND THE WINNER IS... The lucky winner of a copy of Beautiful Bandit is Donna McDine. Congratulations, Donna!