History, Real Life, and Faith
I bid a WWII submarine veteran farewell in 2014. Ninety year-old Chester Bienkowski led a long and successful life, starting when America went to war in December 1941. He enlisted in the Navy a month later and served out of Hawai’i on diesel submarines. Some of you will remember 20% of American submarines left Pacific ports never to return. I…
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The Yuletide Bride presented me with both challenges and interesting parameters when I went in search of its setting. Since the original title was “Eleven Pipers Piping,” and those pipers played a role in the inspirational romance, I needed to find the right setting where the pipers could get their instruments. As in, a place where the reeds grew that enabled them to…
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Well, how would you describe bagpipes?
I love the rhyme and the pun of these words: The Yuletide Bride by Michelle Ule. What could be better than that? How about a short novella story that features a young man working hard to save up the incredible sum of $70 to win the hand of his young sweetheart in 1874 Nebraska? What if we mix in pan…
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Do music and math talent go together? I first heard of the connection when I was twelve and taking piano lessons. Mrs. Stone presented a new piece of music, I put my hands to the keys and started playing. “Wait,” she said. “You didn’t want to study and count it out?” I tilted my head in confusion. “Count out what?”…
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I first glimpsed Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books as a second grader. Our new school building opened that year, and the library was filled with new books, tables, chairs, and students. I sat facing the W section of fiction, and there at eye level waited a row of books with matching covers. Intrigued, I yearned for permission to pick up the…
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