A few months ago, my mother uncovered a college paper that my Grandmother Bailey (her mother) had written when she was at Oberlin College. She saw that the topic was right up my alley, so sent it along to me. The paper is titled “Building Healthy Sex Knowledge” and was written for a child development […]
Tag: 1930s
Prostration by Heat (1931)
Sorry I’ve been a bit quiet on the blog as of late. I’ve been posting over on Facebook and Twitter (the lazy blogger’s way of staying connected). The big news since I last updated here is that the Off-Broadway show that was loosely based on my book, has closed as of the end of June. […]
1930: How to Be a Successful [November] Hostess
In honor of Thanksgiving week, and since many of you are probably entertaining friends or relatives in the coming days, I thought I’d bring you a bit of advice from a book I picked up while on summer vacation: How to be a Successful Hostess. Published in 1930 and written by Charlotte Clarke and Thelma […]
When and How to Tell Jokes
That Estelle Hunter. She sure is a crack-up in her Personality Development, Unit Three: Voice and Expression. I mean, that salesman joke ~ hilarious! 1939: When and How to Tell Jokes It is not unusual for a group to spend an hour or more in exchanging jokes or stories, but such conversation soon becomes wearisome and […]
Building a Fire
I admit it. I’m a camping snob. Thanks to trips as a youngster to a favorite spot by a pond near the Finger Lakes in New York State, I prefer real camping: the Grotke family tent, the roaring fire, wading in the creek, peeing against the trees. Alas, many urbanites are a bit fearful of the […]
Gardening
Pink geraniums, orange marigolds, sonata mix cosmos, sunscape daisy nasinga white, snow crystals alyssium, brachycomb, a tomato plant, and some herbs. They should be outside enjoying the spring, but tonight they sit in my living room waiting for the season’s last frost to pass us by. I’m certainly an amateur gardener, only filling a few […]
Worry-Monger Identifier
A little worry is not harmful, as author David Seabury reminds us in the preface to How to Worry Successfully: “It is only when apprehension is ruled by nervous anxiety, and imagination distorted by fear, that worry injures us.” And that’s why I’m worried ~ it sure seems like people are just freaking out these days. […]
The Wise Use of Leisure
I am heading out on vacation tomorrow ~ taking a roadtrip with my crazy dog Frieda to New England. Since there is much traveling going on during these fine summer months, I decided to find some words on one of my favorite activities ~ leisure. This one is from a home ecomonics textbook entitled Everyday Living for […]
The Summer Job Conundrum
Q Dear Miss Abigail: I have recently been offered a summer job at an amusement park running a ride. I was really psyched to take it, so I could enjoy my summer in the sun. But just today my Dad told me that they are hiring summer help where he works. The problem is that […]
The Write Stuff
Q Dear Miss Abigail: I have a girlfriend who lives in another country, but she hasn’t written me like she said she would. What should I do? Signed, John A Dear John: Uh, oh. Her actions do not appear to be a good sign, according to the following advice from Warren D. Bowman’s Home Builders of […]