A Family Affair

I recently attended Books ‘n Authors ‘n All That Jazz at Weatherford College. I’ll write about some of the sessions in future posts, but today I want to talk about the great experience I had with my family.

My daughter Sherri attended with her children, my eight-year-old granddaughter Ashleigh and my ten-year-old grandson Nicholas.

The kids attended children’s workshops and had a chance to make their own book. I really enjoyed seeing them so excited about writing and books.

I have encouraged Sherri to write a book about her life. A Type-1 diabetic for most of her life, she has experienced severe health challenges for years and overcome many obstacles. A couple of years ago, she had a pancreas transplant and frequently gives talks to groups and shares her story to encourage other patients.

She hasn’t paid much attention to my urgings to write a book, but she got excited about the idea when she attended the conference. She had a chance to talk to a publisher, who encouraged her to write and publish her book.

It’s interesting that someone outside the family says the same thing as I’ve been saying for years, suddenly Sherri takes the idea seriously. I’m glad she’s finally considering it.

Sharing the conference with Sherri, Ashleigh, and Nicholas made it special.

[tags]Books ‘n’ Authors and All That Jazz, writing, Sherri Williams[/tags]

Carnival of Genealogy

The 23rd Edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is on the subject of School Days. You can read about historical schools, the schooling of bloggers’ ancestors, memories of childhood school days, tributes to teachers, and touching, entertaining, and funny stories.

[tags]Carnival of Genealogy, blog carnival[/tags]

School Kids Today Are Missing Something …

From the time I started first grade at Becker Elementary School in south Austin in 1950, my school days started in a similar way.

We began the day by saying the Pledge of Allegiance to the US flag and the Pledge to the Texas Flag.

Then we had a short prayer.

After the prayer, we sang the official state flower song of Texas: Bluebonnets, about the beautiful flowers that bloomed every spring.

I remember a man I thought was the author coming to our class one day when I was in elementary school to lead us in this song. However, it appears that the song was written by two women, so I’m not sure who the man was that I was so impressed to have at my school.

Beginning the day this way made my day. I was proud to put my hand over my heart and pledge allegiance to both the national and state flags. It made me feel good to hear a prayer and sing a song about our state.

Unfortunately children of today who attend public schools are denied the opportunity to start their day with this good feeling. Only those who can afford to go to private school enjoy this opportunity

I believe children who don’t have this positive start to their school day are missing something good.

[tags]Pledge of Allegiance, prayer in school, Bluebonnets[/tags]

Political Correctness vs. Historical Accuracy

I’m working on Adam’s Daughters, my second book in the Westward Sagas. I’d written a scene in which Adam Mitchell meets Chief Bowles, a chief of the Cherokee tribe.

I used the word squaw to identify the chief’s wife, since that is what she would have been called by the Washington County settlers in the 1780s. It was brought to my attention that the word “squaw” is offensive and shouldn’t be used.

Not long after that, I had a conversation about my book with a woman from India. When I used the word “Indian,” she gently corrected me to “Native American.”

Historical accuracy is important to me, but I certainly don’t want to offend anyone by using words that are today considered derogatory or inaccurate. So I have a dilemma on what words to use in my book: Indian squaw … Native American woman, Indian chief … Cherokee leader, what?

I’d really like to hear other opinions on how I can write a book that is true to history without being offensive in a different society more than two hundred years later than my story.

[tags]political correctness, historical accuracy, unbiased language[/tags]