What Nebraska Means to Me

 I sit thinking about what Nebraska means to me. Does the meaning come from being at the cabin and watching a deep red cardinal sit on the rail today, the prettiest bird I've ever seen? Is it the tress and water that surround me in all their hidden serenity? Or could it be the woman who helped me carry my purchases out of the store, because I looked tired and was spacey? Was it finding an Anne Tyler book in at Good Will, where I also found a first printing of Willa Cather's  "Oh Pioneers" 1940 paperback and a magazine on Nebraska Birds? Maybe it's my granddaughters here in Crete or the Pony Express Park and Methodist Church where our other home is. Some questions are hard put, but from the time when I was two and flew in my father's plane, until I was eight and found  jewelry in the knoll at the family dump and went down town and sold it, I loved Nebraska. It didn't stop there and it won't stop here. This is where I will one day be buried, my ashes scattered to the winds  on the plains. What Nebraska means, to me, and why I love it will remain a mystery-like secrets in the breeze and owls hiding in trees...

Nebraska Notes-Passages and Poetry: Pedophile Pastor Grooming Twelve Year Old in the R...

Nebraska Notes-Passages and Poetry: Pedophile Pastor Grooming Twelve Year Old in the R...: Pastor Evans in the process of grooming twelve year old Celeste Dusty in the Rag Princess. Celeste a farm girl has lost her parents and is l...

Pedophile Pastor Grooming Twelve Year Old in the Rag Princess

Pastor Evans in the process of grooming twelve year old Celeste Dusty in the Rag Princess. Celeste a farm girl has lost her parents and is living with an abusive aunt, Sylvie.

     Pastor reminded her that he was her only friend and that Sylvie would be furious if she didn’t please him. “You aren’t scared of me, are you, sweetheart? I would never do anything against God, and scaring you would make God very angry. Why are you afraid to sit in my lap?”

     She choked. How would she tell him?

    “Honey, we’ll talk about your fear of being hurt.” Right away, his arm was around her.

     She wanted to scream for him to sit in his chair and talk to her. She was too overwhelmed and shocked to be properly scared. Suddenly, she remembered how often he’d touched her. She guessed he was just touchy as a means of affection.

    “Now, now,” Pastor said. “It’s all right. Give me your hand, honey. Yes, that’s it. Let me soothe you.”

She cried, and he told her sweet things he’d noticed about her. At one point, she realized that her hand was on his thigh and was unsure of how it got there. He saw her looking and removed it, only to put his hand on her thigh. Surely, he was just being kind and wanting to father her …

      Thank goodness, it was time to go.

      Then he was asking her about the doll she had mentioned the second time they’d met. She’d described it. Surely, he wouldn’t. Would he? If so, he must really see her as being his little girl, which wasn’t so bad. Here she was, twelve and going to school with girls who’d have a fit if given a doll, but she craved her old doll.

Nebraska Notes-Passages and Poetry: From the Rag Princess-A Child's Vicious Encounter ...

Nebraska Notes-Passages and Poetry: From the Rag Princess-A Child's Vicious Encounter ...:  In writing this story about  a hired hand's daughter, a twelve year old, whose parents die-and who lands in harms way, my purpose is t...

Nebraska Notes-Passages and Poetry: MORNING TALK WITH GOD: BLESSINGS AND FORGOTTEN TH...

Nebraska Notes-Passages and Poetry: MORNING TALK WITH GOD: BLESSINGS AND FORGOTTEN TH...: Lord, here sit at 6:45 a.m. a peaceful time of day for talking with you. It's quiet outside the way I like. There's just a bit of sn...

MORNING TALK WITH GOD: BLESSINGS AND FORGOTTEN THANKS

Lord, here sit at 6:45 a.m. a peaceful time of day for talking with you. It's quiet outside the way I like. There's just a bit of snow in the street. My coffee cup is to my right. The office here is scattered with paper, pens, books, a day bed, kitty curled up, a bit straw basket, mys white book case with glass doors, my garage sale book case, and the book case Milan made me, my writing, tussled  covers from a short night, the credenza with art supplies, some fabric, thread, embroidery  needles, pictures on the wall, a few dolls from my collection, nick knacks and art, pictures of family, my Bibles in the cupboard, a candle, a tape recorder for reading into, computers, my favorite stories, song books with songs I like, a box of family pictures, book markers with sayings, poetry that I wrote, thread, a closet with everything, vintage books, drawers full of dreams. In other words, my office defines me and my passions. Nothing big or fancy-that's not me. The things I like are small and intimate and connected to hobbies and interests. This is a sun room with a big window for the sun to shine in, I like seeing out with sun streaming in or a heavy snow falling.
I've described my room and and as you might assume it's special to me. This is the prob;em. To my right in a baskets a saying that my husband ran off and is framing for friends: WHAT IF YOU WOKE UP TODAY WITH ONLY WHAT YOU THANKED GOD FOR YESTERDAY. Lord if that had happened Iwould be without this room, without the food i just ate,  without my husband, my son his wife, our grandchildren, clothing, friends. I wouldn't have the Bible I tucked away, the brisk air to breathe, my mind, our church, my existence, the life I love or the land I find so beautiful, the people who protect America the pastors, doctors, store clerks, the garbage men, my vacuum, stove mop, or most importantly, I wouldn't have you-or rather I would undeservedly. I am not proud of this Lord thank you for everything you've so abundantly blessed me with, Help me to remember to thank you dearest Lord so generous

Preparing Pumpkin( 1919 )and the Virginia Pudding

Quote This from the 1909 Gothenburg Times regarding preparing the pumpkin-

The delicate flavor of pumpkin comes from the long and gentle application of heat. 
Stew the preparation 2- 3 hours. Then mix in the following ingredients:

To each cup of pulp add the following-
  two beaten eggs
 a cupful of sugar
 a tablespoon of corn starch, dissolved in a cup of creme- add-
-half a tsp of ginger and cinnamon and a lemon extract
add a large tablespoon of melted butter
add this to the paste mixture above and bake into a pie...

Virginia pudding is  a southern recipe,  although it is stated that Thanksgiving   is  seen as a Northern tradition  For this the baker needed one lb of stoned raisins, one pound of currants, and a forth a pound of citron (sliced in large baking bowl) dredged with flour a half pound of fresh suet was added and all mixed together-
in another bowl mix one half pound of butter with equal weight of sugar add six egg yolks and beat smooth-add one pint of rich sweet mild-

This is merely the beginning of the recipe. Should anyone want to fix this I will be so kind to write you the rest of the recipe--It surely takes days to fix-I can't imagine but the pioneer wedding cakes were much the same- made over a period of weeks so that one got the cake wrapped in paper.

The Virginia pudding had a sauce on top consisting of sugar. butter, egg white, and lemon rind. In my mind I see a beautiful plantation with a cook madly at work preparing this delicacy which also includes a variety of spices and fruit. I bet it was good, or at least interesting. I think I will stick to the pumpkin above and try an original pie...Happy Thanksgiving from Barb