Tuesdays with Story

TUESDAYS WITH STORY
WRITER’S MAIL FOR JULY 22, 2010
by Greg Spry

Next Fifth Tuesday: August 31st, 2010
It’s only 6 weeks away, August 31, our next Fifth Tuesday feast and festival of writing, August 31. Place to be announced, but not the writing challenge. We have that: You’re late for work because you overslept. Your boss hates oversleepers, but he does love entertaining stories. Create the most outlandish excuse for why you were late . . . and do it in no more than 400 words.

Write your mini-masterpiece now. Git ’er done, and email it to Jerry Peterson.

Meeting Recap: Tuesday, July 20th – 1st & 3rd
Randy – Judith wanted to know where the story takes place. Randy tells us it takes place in a fantasy world, in medieval times. Pat felt like it was Mexico. Judith thought it was Finland. She also felt the dream could be more mystical. Jerry wondered why Hona didn’t turn to look and see what was carrying her in the dream, or at least try to see if she was able. John and Jerry wanted to know what made the creature noble. Elijah thought she needs to take the time to consider her answer after her friend asks an evocative question. Jerry thinks her world feels very real, but for a medieval period, would she be allowed out in the woods? Does Thil hear the conversation between Hona and the goat?

Jen – She tells us a few years ago she was searching for something and a little lost. Pat enjoyed the poem and picked up on the Zen of it but had a question about the opening lines. Pat would like to see her take the poem to the next step, because the rhythm is there, she’s curious to see what she could do with it. Elijah thought it didn’t rhyme, but that it worked. Judith wanted to see what happened to the mind throughout the poem. Cathy got more of an understanding from Jen’s introduction than she did from the poem itself – something she could relate to. John wanted to know about one line in particular. Millie wanted to know why one word was capitalized, but if it’s a spiritual reference, then it made sense.

Judith – Elijah found words that ratchet up the tension in any conversation, not just in the car on the road. Pat was surprised Marshall didn’t make any comments about it being Sam’s fault the car got pulled over. Perhaps the tiredness is causing some of the tension. Randy wondered if you can say ‘shit’ on the radio. John thought it strange he died and then survived with a head wound. Cathy wasn’t sure about the word dialogue – perhaps it could be replaced with tirade or rant.

Pat Tomlinson – Someone wanted to know if Wynn was British or not. Pat decides on the spot that he’s a New Zealander. Pat E, brought up the story to print it out and couldn’t stop reading. Jerry had a problem; after a while the android is referred to as a character, who is dead on a table, but now there are two – it’s a naming issue for him. Amber wanted the main character to show a bit more bravado, but Pat insists that since the character isn’t curled up in the fetal position on the floor shows he had some guts. Cathy thought the main character could go over his feelings in the epilogue.

Who’s Up Next?
July 27: Terry Hoffman (chapter, The Journal), Karen Zethmayr (“Oak Arena”), Karl Bryan (short story, “Dubai Stopwatch”/part 3), Dan Hamre (either “Afterthought” or “Tractor Jockey”), Annie Potter (chapter, memoir), and Anne Allen (chapter, mystery)

August 3: Kim Simmons (chapters 41-42, James Hyde), Greg Spry (novella/part 3, Goodbye, Mars), Randy Haselow (chapter 1/part 2, Hona and the Dragon), Amber Boudreau (chapter 15), Clayton Gill (chapter 15, Fishing Derby), and Millie Mader (poem).

August 10: Patrick Tomlinson (chapter, A Hole in the Fence), Jen Wilcher (???), Holly Bonnicksen-Jones (chapter 18, Coming Up For Air), Jack Freiburger (chapter, Path to Bray’s Head), and Randy Haselow (chapter 2, Hona and the Dragon)

August 17: John Schneller (chapter 1, book 3), Patrick Tomlinson (???), Judith McNeil (radio play/part 3, “South to Sunday”), Aaron Boehm (???), Elijah Meeker (???), and Skye Winspur (???)

August 31: Fifth Tuesday

September 7: Randy Haselow (chapter 3, Hona and the Dragon), Cathy Riddle (chapter 6, Beer Crimes), Jen Wilcher (???), Amber Boudreau (chapter 15, novel), Pat Edwards (poems), and Jerry Peterson (chapter 12, For Want of a Hand)

Book Review – THE JOURNEY TAKERS BY LESLIE ALBRECHT HUBER
SUBMITTED BY: MILLIE MADER

The fabric of Leslie’s ancestors, and the threads that bind the past to her present, are woven into an intriguing tapestry in this, her first book. She has walked in the footsteps of those who preceded her, and she draws the lives that they lived into her own imagination, then onto paper. This book is factual genealogy, colored by the fictional narrative of each person, time, and place. Leslie relives in her mind, and on the page, the thoughts, emotions, and purposes these long ago men, women, and children would have experienced.
Leslie started on her journey 12 ago when she was a carefree, 21-year-old college student. She researches every birth, marriage, and death certificate through the internet and a maze of ancient church and county records. She begins in an obscure village in what was then part of the Prussian state before Germany was a country. The earliest German ancestor she discovered was Christoph Harprecht, who was born in 1769. By 1795, the name was shortened to Albrecht. These people were all peasants, barely existing under the system of serfdom. A few were “landed” peasants, some “partially” landed, and most “ordinary” peasants. Leslie’s research is tireless, motivated by a desire to know her family and how their lives interweave with hers. “There was no royalty, no wealthy merchants,” she tells us. Many died early, often at birth. There were, surprisingly, many illegitimate births. Leslie learned that this was because young people were not allowed to marry until the man could prove that he could provide for a household. The customs and mores of the day were strictly governed by the German Protestant Church. Hardship, hunger, and death plagued the peasants’ lives. There was little time for gaiety – and it was usually overruled by exhaustion. Love matches were made, however, but many married several times due to the death of a spouse.
Georg Albrecht, born in 1837, and his wife Mina Haker Albrecht, born in 1840, were the first “journey takers” on Leslie’s German side – the first to come to the United States.
In the next section we travel with Karsti Nilsdotter, who was born in 1843 in the hamlet of Skane, Sweden. She, of all her family, undertook the journey to America alone. However, there was a group of Mormons whom she accompanied. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints had sent missionaries to many small hamlets of Europe, hoping to gain converts. These preachers were widely persecuted. Slowly, by aiding people who wished to join them, they were successful in recruiting many peasants who desired to leave Europe and help in establishing a communal village and church in the Utah territory.
All the emigrants suffered horrific conditions on the overseas sailings. Seasickness and dysentery took many lives. Leslie narrates each segment through the eyes of her “journey takers”, and to readers this evokes intense feelings and images. We smell the stench and recoil at the conditions they face on the ships. Daily they deal with illness, death, and hunger. Karsti Nilsdotter and the rest of the voyagers reached New York in 1861. They spent several days in Castle Garden, the predecessor of Ellis Island. The American Civil War had just begun, and the trip by rail went only as far as Omaha, Nebraska. Missouri was a split state, and the train windows were boarded up as the cars swayed and rumbled through. The travelers could hear gunfire in the distance. After Omaha, the Mormons continued on by riverboat and then ox cart, with most of the people walking. They piled their wagons high with whatever provisions they could secure.
The English “journey takers” section of the book starts with the birth of Edmond Harris in 1825. He was born into a poor farm family at a time when England was embroiled in dissension. Ultimately, Edmond met and married Eliza, and they were baptized into the LDS church. Their journey to Utah by way of Australia was fraught with disaster and sorrow. A shipwreck fractured the family. Edmond finally arrived in Utah, and all the branches in Leslie’s family tree joined here.
Leslie continues with her ancestors’ pursuits in the Mormon settlement of Freemont, Utah. In summing up their lives, she concludes that those whom she thought were ordinary were actually far from it.
Leslie has done an amazing amount of research and traveling. The book took 12 years to complete, and she is now the mother of four. She and her husband both earned their degrees at Brigham Young University, and their graduate degrees at the University of Wisconsin. Leslie grew up in Texas, where her parents are professors at Texas A&M.
The Hubers now live in Massachusetts, where Leslie’s husband George – called David in the book so readers wouldn’t confuse him with Georg Albrecht – teaches and does research at the University of Massachusetts.
When Leslie gives her book talks, she speaks fondly of Madison. In her acknowledgments, she thanks Tuesdays with Story for steering her in the right direction.

Buy The Journey Takers
Above, you read Millie Mader’s review of Leslie Huber’s book, The Journey Takers. Crank back a half a dozen years and Leslie was a member of Tuesdays with Story. She was working on the manuscript that became this book while she was with us. To get a copy, go to Amazon. It’s there, $17.95.

Great Old Word
Courtesy of Wordsmith Anu Garg:
gimcrack
PRONUNCIATION: (JIM-krak)
MEANING: noun: Something cheap and showy, of little use.
adjective: Showy, but worthless.
ETYMOLOGY: Of uncertain origin, perhaps an alteration of Middle English gibecrake (small ornament), possibly from Old French giber (to shake).
USAGE: “Uncle Rabid Prophet TechEye has worshiped more gimcrack bits of junk and practiced more half-baked religions than all of Hollywood combined.”
Bow Down And Open Your Wallet; Warsaw Business Journal (Poland); Aug 21, 2006.

Great New Phrase
Courtesy of Word Spy Paul McFedries:
apocalypse fatigue
n. Reduced interest in current or potential environmental problems due to frequent dire warnings about those problems.
Example Citations:
“Heading into one of the most important climate-change summits ever, global warming has an image problem. For the first time in 25 years, a majority of Americans rank economic concerns above environmental ones, a major poll shows. People also are exhibiting signs of what some environmental experts call ‘apocalypse fatigue.’
– Mike Lee, Climate-change skeptics getting warmed up, The San Diego Union-Tribune, December 6, 2009
“The lingering question is whether the collapse of the climate campaign is also a sign of a broader collapse in public enthusiasm for environmentalism in general. Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger, two of the more thoughtful and independent-minded figures in the environmental movement, have been warning their green friends that the public has reached the point of ‘apocalypse fatigue.’
– Steven F. Hayward, In Denial, The Weekly Standard, March 15, 2010
Earliest Citation:
“I think the problem, Larry, is that we keep on seeing this science by press release with these apocalyptic pronouncements. If we were in California, we’d probably say the people are getting apocalypse fatigue and each one of the these things has to be hyped more and more and more, and you know that.”
– Pat Michaels, Crossfire, CNN, February 10, 1992
Notes:
Although the phrase apocalypse fatigue as been around for a while, its recent popularity is thanks to a paper by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Schellenberger called “Apocalypse Fatigue: Losing the Public on Climate Change” (PDF document).

The Final Word
“Don’t lose your faith to your lost naïveté” — Lyric from the song Viva La Gloria by Green Day