Authors on the Net Interview
August 25, 2008
Authors on the Net (AON) is a great Web site to help authors promote and sell their books. If you’re an author and aren’t a member of AON, I encourage you to check it out.
Phil Davis, the founder of Authors on the Net, recently interviewed me about my book Spring House. You can listen to the interview on the AON Web site. You can skip past Phil’s long introduction—if you’ve been here for a while, you know all that background. My favorite part of the interview is the discussion of platform. Hope you enjoy the podcast.
Bowles Family Reunion
August 18, 2008
More than 50 members of the extended Bowles family attended the reunion August 8-9, 2008 at the Riverside Resort in Canyon Lake, Texas. Entertainment and chuckwagon chow was provided by KR Wood’s Camp Cookie Trio. They had the crowd clapping, dancing, and generally having a grand ole time.
Talkin’ Texan
August 9, 2008
Being a fifth generation Texan, I have often been told I talk funny. When I travel I sometimes feel intimidated by the comments on my accent from people who aren’t from Texas. Can you imagine being told by a cab driver from Brooklyn that you talk funny?
There are different dialects spoken by natives of the Lone Star State. Texans from the piney woods of East Texas have a twang that surpasses any Georgia cracker you will ever meet. I enjoy the accents in West Texas the best and love the way they say “all bidness” (business).
Texas has been a melting pot of diverse cultures for 300 years, starting with the Canary Islanders to San Antonio, followed by land impresarios bringing settlers from Germany to the Texas Hill Country, Alsatians to Castroville, and Polish settlers to Panna Maria in South Texas. Each came with their native tongue, now five or six generations later. They all sound the same with a friendly Texas drawl and a tip of the hat. How ya’ll doing? I love that drawl and sure missing hearing it when I’m away from home.
Over the years I’ve found that words used in my family were not always understood outside the home. You should have seen the look my waitress gave me when I told her the glass of milk she brought was “blinky,” which to me meant it was about to spoil. Frequently older members referred to being “all stove up,” which was their way of describing joint or muscle pain. I have no idea where the word “stove up” or “blinky” came from. Are they unique to my family? Can anyone tell me?
This post is an entry in the Carnival of Genealogy that will be posted at What’s Past is Prologue.
DAR and SAR Dedication Ceremony
August 5, 2008
The Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) and the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) marked the grave of Revolutionary soldier William Galbreath in a dedication ceremony on July 19, 2008 in Ashmore, Illinois.
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Logo Credit: From the Imagination and Graphic Artistry of K.A. M'Lady & P.M. Dittman