Free Write - A Ladder and ...

 

In the 100+ Free Writes the three of us agreed that this was the hardest. Before we read them to each other we called our writing "lame," not that Free Writes are meant to be finished pieces. Maybe we can blame the five canicules (heat waves) that lasted most of the summer as responsible for melting our brains. Next week we'll be in two countries and communicating by the internet.

This was our last session at Martel. The waitress knows us well and informed us Julia was on her way. 

Rick's Free Write

There is a legend in the village that it is inhabited by fairies and gnomes.

They only emerge at night when no humans – and especially no cats or dogs – are around to see them.

They get together in the square near the water trough, where they sing and dance, tossing pixie dust everywhere.

One night some evil trolls wandered up from the riverbank, looking to create mischief. The river was drying up and the trolls meant to steal the water from the village.

A pair of gnome sentries spotted the trolls strolling up the hill and sounded the alarm.

As the trolls approached the water trough, all the gnomes and fairies were hidden.

Just as the trolls climbed on the ledge of the trough, all of the gnomes rushed to push then into the water. Then the fairies sprinkled special purple pixie dust, turning the water into prune juice, which the trolls hate.

You never saw trolls run so fast!

D-L's Free Write

"Put the ladder closer to the window," Marilyn said.

"The paint's not dry." Joanne's fingers were the same dusty rose as the ladder.

Marilyn was finishing the headless bird doll. The three girls designed Frida wings and stick legs.

"That will show her." Marilyn stuck a blue bowl on the doll for the head.

"Her Mom will be mad, especially since we got paint on the wall," Joanne said.

The three eleven-year olds had snuck under the hedge. The hard part had been getting ladder under. 

"I'm just sorry we won't be able to see Amy trying to explain it to her mom. That will teach Amy to say we cheated on a Math test when we didn't."

They were right. Amy's mom, who was a bit OCD, was upset at the paint on the wall and punished Amy.

Revenge. 

Julia's Free Write

Lordy only knows what I’ll write this time!

She had had a few upsets in her life so had learned to roll with the punches.

This particular time, it was her son’s separation and his return to the family home.

She was the only one who actually had some positive as she saw the grandkids more often.

It had also led to the sorting and tossing of 45 years accumulated “stuff.”

One grandson was taking after his uncle and loved handicrafts, so she saved toilet paper rolls, egg cartons, colored paper and the like.

One day they were outside and saw a discarded wooden frame waiting to be taken to the dump.

Crayons and permission had it colored as high as they could reach.

Then it was “we have to decorate it”. Some cardboard, pipe cleaners, beads and pastel watercolors produced a piece of artwork that anyone would be proud of: two small children discovering their creativity.

About the Free Writers

Rick Adams is an aviation journalist and publisher of www.aviationvoices.com, a weekly newsletter reporting the airline industry  top stories . He is the author of The Robot in the Simulator. AI in Aviation Training.  

Visit D-L.'s website  https://dlnelsonwriter.com, She is the author of 15 fiction and three non fiction books. Her 300 Unsung Women, bios of women who battled gender limitations, can be purchased  at https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/300-unsung-women-d-l-nelson/1147305797?ean=9798990385504 

Visit Julia's blog. She has written and taken photos and loves syncing up with friends.  Her blog can be found: https://viewsfromeverywhere.blogspot.com/ 

 

 

 

 

How Dare He?

 

Watching Donald Trump as President is like watching a very, very, very bad movie.

How dare he:

• Even think about making the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory. 
• Want to take over Canada, Greenland, Cuba, two of which are sovereign nations.
• Decide arbitrarily to shoot people in boats claiming they are carrying drugs without proof.
• Oust another country's president.
• Destroy the symbol and home of the president of the USA
• Remove names of people who made major contributions to the country from major sites. 
• Stopped prosecuting many frauds of corporate leaders and gone after the little guys such as food trucks. 

Lie, lie, lie about everything including how America is once against respected. 

For a more complete list Senator Chris Murphy gave a list of 500 days of his illegal activities. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DaQ_95hPhu4&t=31s 

Trump complains that he has restored the U.S. reputation. He has sunk US reputation and turned us into a disliked country. I came across this chart and cannot verify, but living in Europe makes me believe it from what I see. 

Most of hat Trump tries to do is in violation of national and international law.

The problem unlike a bad movie one can't walk out of the theater or change the channel. 

 

Safe From What????

 

All my life I've been told the military budget has to be huge, many times other countries' budgets combined to keep citizens safe. 

Most of that money goes to equipment, killing equipment, of various quality. 

As a child, when there were atomic bomb drills in schools and we hid under our desks, I wondered why a child in Russia would want to drop a bomb on the Lowell Street School.

Watching I Led Three Lives about a double spy, I was aware that such a thing as espionage existed. Somehow I never thought the North Koreans or the Vietnamese would come running through the streets of Reading, Massachusetts guns a blazing. 

As I grew up I became more aware of different international crisis. The Cuban crisis happened as I was waiting to join my bridegroom in Stuttgart, Germany. 

There were no Nuclear bombs in Iraq despite being told they were.

The last few months our lying government has used the threat of a nuclear Iran as an excuse to bomb and kill. There had been a functioning treaty that the president annulled.

Small boats have been bombed and people killed to keep drugs away from the U.S. No proof. Drug stats in the U.S. have not changed.

Americans are not safe from many things that Europeans/Canadians are:

• Bankruptcy because of medical expenses
• Food inadequately inspected
• Certain food additives
• Certain pesticides
• Guns
• Lifelong or many year debt from education costs
• Corporations and banks 
• Over work
• Safety regulations at the work place

So my question is SAFE FROM WHAT????

 

 

 

 

Simple and Wonderful

 

If you live in an Anglophone country, an English book store is no big thing. If you don't and you are a reader, big time, it's wonderful to have a book-filled store handy.

We live in two Francophone countries. Yes, there are places to get English books such as: 

• Geneva English Library 
• Friends 
• Revamped telephone booths 
• English sections of local language bookstores 
• Internet 

But even with the 12,000+ books at the library, what we want is not always available.

When Pages and Sips opened a couple of years back in Geneva's old town it became a place for us not only to order a book we can't find  in paper but a place to enjoy.

This morning Rick, Sherlock and I headed to the Veille Ville, Old Town, with its centuries old buildings and cobbled stone streets to pick up books we ordered. The dog led us directly to the open door.

Because of the five canicules (heatwaves from 90°-105° for days-weeks) we had hunkered down at home rather than go into the city.

Emily, the owner, was on holiday, but she had her friendly staff ready our order for us. 

Not so fast.

 

First it was necessary to find a comfortable seat and order:

• Me: Classic scone (which would be served warm), clotted cream, strawberry jam, smoked tea.
• Rick: Chocolate scone, hot chocolate, clotted cream.
• Sherlock: Water, clotted cream.   

There was something cozy about just sitting there having breakfast, nibbling and talking. Books are not just on shelves but on tables. There's a children's room and a second story.  

There are unusual jigsaw puzzles, often with a literary theme such as Agatha Christie's library where her mysteries are hidden. As a child we had many Switzerland jigsaw puzzles, which I loved never imaging that one day I'd not only live there but be a citizen.  

The soft green walls and ceiling with white trim, the ancient wooden beams and comfy furniture all add to the atmosphere. Everything fits down to the smallest detail, including the bookstore name on a dog's water dish and book bags.

 

Soft music, this morning it was jazz, played in the background.

I was only too aware of what adds quality to my life. Living in this historic place just adds to my contentment. Jean-Jacques Rousseau was born across the street. Jean Calvin's church is a couple of blocks away as is his 467-year old school where students still meet high standards. Perhaps they no longer learn Latin, Greek and the Bible but they come out well-educated citizens.

I revel in experiences more than things. The cows in field not far from where we live are the prettiest brown color, the flowers that are in the garden, the huge, and I mean huge trees that line the road, the view of Mt. Blanc as we walk down the road to our home all add pleasure to my life. I revel in my husband's company. Having Sherlock stare into my eyes melts my heart. 

When I nail a sentence or a scene in my writing, meet a friend to share a word or a meal are all reasons for joy. I love rainy and snowy weather. When Rick and I made a snow dog, Sherlock sniffed then finding it wanting destroyed it. 

It is that type of memory to bring out from time to time when a smile is needed. Color, beautiful smells, interesting actions, music, words, so much brings quality to my life.

 

 

 

 

Coat Hangers- Abortion is Profitable

 

 

A Profitable Business 

The cost was $300 ($5,082 in 2018 dollars) per week plus board and medical costs.

To have the baby adopted into “good hands” was another $100. This was not a service for factory workers, maids or shop girls.

Unlike Madame Restell, Henry Dyer Grindle (1826-1902) was a real doctor. He graduated from the School of Medicine at New York University in 1867. And unlike Restell’s husband, Grindle’s wife, Julia Lockwood (1837-1900), acted as a midwife, although with dubious credentials. Like Restell and Lohman, the couple did abortions and adoptions at their illegal clinic.

Dr. Grindle’s first formal accusation resulted when Susannah Lattin (See Chapter 4) died postpartum in 1868 at the 6 Amity Place, New York City clinic. Grindle was acquitted because the death was during childbirth and not because of an abortion.

Three years later, 27 August 1871, reporter Augustus St. Clair wrote an article for The New York Times, challenging the Grindles. He mentioned they claimed to offer relief to women in trouble and for all female complaints. The advertisements mentioned the elegance of the environment as well as offering pleasant rooms for nursing.

St. Clair was not impressed with Grindle’s credentials, claiming his doctor title was obtained from New York University a mere four years before. Grindle claimed in his publicity he had 25 years of experience.

St. Clair mentioned that the couple had moved from the place where Lattin had died, which he described in detail: “He and his ‘Madame’ transact an immense amount of business, in which they are reputed to have amassed a handsome fortune. Formerly their premises were in Amity-place, but after the house becoming notorious they removed to their present locality in Twenty-sixth street, midway between Sixth and Seventh avenues. The house is of the three-story and basement style, with rear extension, and has a capacity for about twenty patients. It is appropriately surrounded by fashionable markets of infamy. A huge silver plate upon the outer door bears Dr. Grindle's name; a sign of similar pattern, bearing the ‘Madame's’ name, glares upon the inner door. The interior is furnished with taste and elegance. The parlors are spacious, and contain all the decorations, upholstery, cabinet-ware, piano, book-case, &c., that is found in a respectable home.” St. Clair continued: “A lady and gentleman who recently called there relate the following:

A neat-looking lad ushered us into a parlor, and went after the ‘Madame.’ A profusion of circulars were scattered over the centre-tables, some of them being folded as if intended to be mailed. Suddenly the door opened, and the Madame entered. She is fair, fat, forty, and evidently vigorous, and keen in all her actions. She addressed us with primping care, and in a voice as smooth as the flutter of a humming-bird. ‘My dear friend,’ she said, ‘we can do what you hint at. I understand the case. We have had hundreds of them. Poor unfortunate women! How little the world knows how to appreciate their trials. We think it our mission to take them and save them—a noble work it is, too. But for some friendly hand like ours, how many, many blasted homes, scandalized churches and disorganized social circles there would be. Why, my dear friends, you have no idea of the class of people that come to us. We have had Senators, Congressmen and all sorts of politicians bring some of the first women in the land here. Many—very many aristocratic married women come here—or we attend them in private houses.’”

The cost was $300 ($5,082 in 2018 dollars) per week plus board and medical costs. To have the baby adopted into “good hands” was another $100. This was not a service for factory workers, maids or shop girls.

St. Clair went on to report what happened if the alternative was used and quoted Madame Grindle, “We understand every branch of our business!” and talked about a second place with the best nurses.

There is no way to know if this article was yellow journalism or based on solid research. The cost of $300 a week for a week’s stay would mean their clientele had to be wealthy. No ordinary worker could have afforded the services.

When a woman complained that she had been charged for a $20 bottle of an abortifacient, the Grindles were indicted again. They were found not guilty in 1872.

The couple moved to Ramapo, New York. He was considered respectable enough to be president of the Blaine/Logan campaign for president against Grover Cleveland.

Dr. Grindle died in 1902.