Tag Archives: YA

The Day the Public Library Stole My Feet

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Thanks to John Wayne, most of us remember the Alamo.

British Museum Reading Room, London, Great Britain

And because of Bodeen’s lovely screenplay adaptation of I remember Mama, lots of us, well…remember Mama.

But get this.

I remember *gasp!* before the Internet.

Let me tell you a story…

Once upon a distressing day, in a faraway time they called the ‘80s,

I went solo to the downtown public library for a day of hard-core research.

Before Google. Before Yahoo! Or Bing or AOL Search or… *diabolical laugh* cell phones!

Picture it!

Jodi is…

…driving downtown to *need to borrow Piers Morgan’s voice for the next five words* the Grand Poo-Bah Public Library.

Okay, put Piers’ voice away for now.

Ahem. As I was saying,

Jodi is…

…driving around and around a monstrosity of a downtown public library on one-way streets getting quite desperate for a parking spot AND A POTTY.

…snortling (cross between a chortle and a snort) and slapping the steering wheel because she finds a just-vacated parking spot in front of the library and won’t have to park eight blocks away in the seedy parking lot run by a guy named Snipes.

…ignoring angry faces of two drivers who arrived at sacred parking spot two seconds later than she did. Hard to ignore ugly hand gesture of one angry driver.

…attempting to fit her Chevy Suburban into a parking space the size of a kitchen sink.

Now Jodi is…

…slinking away to Snipes and his eight-streets-away parking lot muttering about her lousy parallel-parking skills.

…loading up her shoulders, arms, wrists and back as if she’s a Grand Canyon pack mule.

…walking and huffing and glowing (because women don’t sweat) all the way to the library on numbed-out, but very cute, high-heeled feet.

…climbing the steps into *grab that Piers voice again* the Grand Poo-Bah Public Library.

Put Piersie’s voice away. He’s done.

Inside hallowed halls, I shall continue my own narration…

As usual, I was hungry to pounce on every fragment of information inside that lofty, pseudo-Roman-Greek-pillared structure of learning and its thousands of yellowed tomes.

I still needed to use the potty, though. I unloaded all MY STUFF inside the tiny toilet enclosure, reloaded it to walk to the sink, unloaded it to wash my hands and reloaded it one more time.

Whew.

I emerged at last from the ladies’ room into a Pantheon of Brilliance. Deeping inhaling the library fumes circling my nose gave me a natural endorphin high. Or was it all the dust mites floating in the air from page-turning currents?

Not sure. Nevertheless, just absorbing that cathedral of knowledge invigorated me.

Achy feet? What achy feet? I was in literature heaven, baby!

I dug my bag of bricks out of the two-inch groove in my shoulder and unloaded it on the blond library table. Of course, I actually unloaded a bag of ancillary books, notebooks, paper, 3×5 cards, pens and a turquoise nylon lunch sack with a sandwich and a juice box…but it felt like bricks.

Obsolete card catalog files at Sterling Memorial Library, Yale University

Zealously grabbing pens and a stack of notecards, I headed to the catalogued card drawers, giddy with research ecstasy. Two or three steps later, rationale reared its ugly head.

What about MY STUFF?

I looked over my shoulder at my STUFF sitting innocently but tall on the library table. I caught movement from the corners of my eyes. Were furtive characters slithering around the perimeter walls eyeballing my heap of treasure? It certainly seemed so.

I mean, we are talking DOWNTOWN.

What choice did I have? I reloaded my STUFF and took it to the nearest Dewey Decimal lounge.

This was before computerized book cataloging. The few dark-age relics vintage screens in the library had wrap-around lines of people waiting to learn how to operate them.

The lucky few currently in front of the terminals were flanked by two or three library assistants pulling their hair out patiently explaining the mechanisms to minds not yet accustomed to absorbing cyber-information.

Really similar to explaining nebulae to your great-great granny.

I know. I know. It’s far too much for some of you to imagine this kind of antiquity without envisioning dinosaurs grazing out on the library lawn. Just because I’m a little jealous of you right now, I’m not going to tell you if dinosaurs were out there or not.

Back to my story.

After bloodying my cuticles STANDING and searching through the overstuffed card drawers and pulling out fuzzy-edged cards with Dewey’s special number codes and compiling a list, I reloaded my STUFF and limped – more like a step-drag-step – to the first aisle of books on my list.

That’s when the fun really started

I…

…dropped my STUFF on the floor between my feet.

…hunkered over it protectively since aforementioned duplicitous characters ventured ever closer to my personal space.

…perused book after book.

…wrote furiously on note cards with one eye on my STUFF.

…scooted STUFF further down the same aisle.

It became a pattern…

Drop STUFF.

Scan immediate area.

Select books.

Stand, bend, squat.

Write notes.

Put books back into place.

Gather pens and cards.

Reload STUFF.

Next aisle.

Write with both eyes on the disheveled man with trousers rolled up to his knee on one leg. Try not to stare at man’s hairy, pasty leg or listless socks banding his ankles.

He shot me a bet-you-don’t-have-Life Lock stare.

Hold it!

Life Lock wasn’t invented yet!

Okay. I remember now.

It was a bet-I can-run-faster-than-you glare. I scowled at him with and hovered closer to my STUFF, especially my purse.

This went on for about three hours.

Task completed

Factoids painfully gathered, I stumbled out the magnificent double doors of the downtown public library, down the steps and back to my Suburban dragging my derrière and, of course, my STUFF.

After the eight-block walk, I threw all that crap STUFF into the back seat. Sitting under the wheel, my key in the ignition, I rummaged through my purse for the precious index cards full of research gold.

I dug and dug. I jumped out and flung open the passenger door. I tore through my tote bag, books, notebooks and turquoise lunch sack.

No cards.

Miserable as a hound dog in a corset, I had to face the facts. I’d left my cards on a bookshelf back at the library. Had to put them down, you see, to reload all my STUFF.

I stood there grasping the side of the Suburban, teetering on my fifteen four-inch heels and arguing with myself. Should I trek the eight blocks back to the library on the off chance that my cards were still sitting there undisturbed, and not being crinkled *softened* that very moment to use as roll-yer-own cigarette paper?

Nah!

I drove home blathering something like wub wub-wubbie woo. In retrospect, I believe that meant the public library had stolen a lot from me that day – my back muscles, my research cards and , most especially, my feet.

I had numbed out bricks suffering from a blister epidemic, not feet.

That’s my sad story.

Lesson learned – when I go to the library these days, *which, incredulously, I still love to do* I take a human STUFF watcher along.

AND I NEVER, NO NEVER, wear high heels to the big downtown public library!

What about you? Do you remember the prehistoric days before the Internet? Did you ever get into a mess like this one with no one to help you out of it? If you’re a writer or researcher, what percentage of your research do you do inside an actual library?

Just for fun, check out Nathan Bransford’s Is the Internet Making Us Better or Worse (http://blog.nathanbransford.com/2011/08/is-internet-making-us-better-or-worse.html) and Done with Dewey by Tali Balas Kaplan at the ACLS  Blog (Assoc. for Library Service to Children).

USC Doheny Library card catalog room. Four walls lined with small drawers, all empty. Replaced by the Internet terminals at left

 

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Of course, a visit isn’t a visit without a two-way conversation. I really want to hear from you.

I truly hope you’ll pick up a copy of my novel Silki, the Girl of Many Scarves: SUMMER OF THE ANCIENT. It’s available at your nearest Barnes & Noble Bookseller, on my website, B&N.com and Amazon. For your convenience, it’s also available for the Kindle, the Nook and most other eBook readers.

If you love the Southwest and kooky little characters that make you laugh aloud as authentic danger and mystery swirl at every turn, you’ll love this novel! The second book in the series, CANYON OF DOOM, debuts in early 2013.

While you’re here, please have a look around my website. To sign up to receive notices of my new blogs, recipes, appearances and media news, just leave your email address above. I’ll take care of the rest. Y’all come back soon … I miss you already!

HEROES: Military Working Dogs (MWDs)

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Military Working Dogs

STUBBY was no slouch. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant and respected his superiors with a famous one-paw-over-the-eye salute!

Private Robert Convoy found the stray Bull Terrier Mix in 1917 at the training camp of the 102nd Infantry at Yale University. He and his buddies kept Stubby with them throughout their training. When their ship deployed to France, Stubby was smuggled aboard. He went through additional training before participating in seventeen war engagements in four WWI offensives. Once, he roused a sleeping sergeant to warn him of a gas attack, giving the soldiers time to don masks. Many lives were saved that night.

The fiesty little stray didn’t disappoint. He performed numerous other heroic deeds and  served as an icon of hope. Later, he was awarded the NCO rank of Sergeant. The most decorated dog from WWI became a post-war celebrity who hobnobbed with Presidents, Generals and Hollywood actors.

Dogs and the Military

Dogs aren’t new to the military. From ancient war camps to now, canines have played an important part. Since the Revolutionary War, dogs served the U.S. military as  companions, helpers, morale boosters and mascots.

In WWII, more than 10,000 MWDs were deployed to both Europe and the Pacific to act as sentries, scouts and mine detectors.

The Vietnam War elevated MWD duties to serving with their handlers and units as co-fighters and expert danger sensors, as well as mine detectors.

Unfortunately, a great travesty of justice occurred after WWII and the Vietnam War. The military classified the MWDs as “disposable.” When our troops went home, the dogs were euthanized, or left behind to fend for themselves.

Not cool.

Hideous.

No way to treat a war hero.

NEMO was One of the Few Vietnam War Dogs to Make it Back to the U.S.

Nemo returns homeNemo and his handler, Airman Second Class Robert Thorneburg, were patrolling an old Vietnamese graveyard when they were attacked. Nemo and Thorneburg  killed two Vietcong before Thorneburg was shot twice in the shoulder. A bullet entered under Nemo’s right eye and exited through his mouth. The injury didn’t stop Nemo. He threw himself on four Vietcong guerrillas as they opened fire. Despite his injuries and being blinded in one eye, Nemo crawled back to his handler and draped himself over him, guarding him, until medical help came. The residing vet had to be called in to coax Nemo off Thorneburg. Both survived.

Back at the base, Nemo had a tracheotomy and skin grafts. He lost his right eye. He returned to the U.S. as a war hero, making personal appearances and spending his retirement at the dog training facility at Lackland AFB.

Changing hearts is a big job. It takes time. I believe Nemo was instrumental in starting to change the heart of the military about MWD classification.

Have Times Changed?

Here’s what one Animal Care Sergeant of the U.S. Army said: “I just wanted you to hear this from someone who’s right in the thick of everything with these MWDs about just how much these dogs are loved while they’re working. They really do get royal treatment that most people don’t have the opportunity to see…they really aren’t treated like property…”

Today, MWDs are considered valuable assets in supporting the war on terror. They safeguard military bases and sniff out explosives. Approximately 2,000+ working dogs are trained and cared for at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas – the center for the Defense Department’s Military Working Dog Program. The trained dog and handler teams are deployed worldwide.

The military, as well as private organizations, have also stepped up to the plate sponsoring adoption of brave dogs who served our country in the Armed Forces.

Five Brave MWDs

Ninety acres of mine-contaminated land were declared safe for building a College of Agriculture in Iraq because of five selfless canines. It took the MWDs eight years to complete this task. Now, thanks to the help of many caring organizations, BLEK, MALYSH, MISO, NERO and ROCKY are to be adopted by American families.

To Name a Few…

RAGS - a Cairn Terrier (France, WWI) ran a message through falling bombs though he was gassed and partially blinded (he survived!).

CHIPS - a German shepherd/husky/collie mix (France, Germany, Italy and North Africa; WWII) was the most decorated K9 who served in WWII.

KAISER  - a German shepherd who completed more than 30 combat patrols and became the first dog killed in action during the Vietnam War.

Lex – a hero for our times

During a rocket attack in Iraq in 2007, handler Corporal Dustin Lee was fatally injured. His MWD, Lex, sustained multiple shrapnel wounds but steadfastly remained with his team partner until other Marines arrived to provide medical attention.

The broken-hearted Lee family wanted to adopt their deceased son’s dog. While Lex was in intensive treatment for his wounds, they began appealing to the Marine Corps for the adoption. After months of prayers, letters and phone calls, the Lees won their battle to adopt Lex, who had returned to active duty.

For five years, Lex worked as a certified therapy dog with Paws 4 Hearts, visited wounded veterans in hospitals, went to veteran dedications and helped to bring awareness to the U.S. War Dogs Memorial. He, along with the Lees, worked tirelessly to change how people look at MWDs.

After an heroic life superbly lived, including winning an honorary Purple Heart, twelve-year-old Lex passed away March 25, 2012. Rachel Lee says the battle is not over yet. She continues her fight for federal support for families who adopt animals that served in the military.

RIP, dear Lex.

A Chance to Get Involved

Negotiations are underway to make Lackland AFB in San Antonio, Texas, the home of the Military Working Dog Teams Monument.

Military Dogs Monument

A quote from their official page: “There is no way we can put a number on all those American Servicemen’s children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren that are here today because America gave her sons and daughters a dog to serve with during times of war. And the dogs had names like CHIPS (WWI) , YORK  (Korean War), NEMO (Vietnam War), COOPER (Iraq War), HUNTER (Afghanistan War) and the list of names goes into the tens of thousands…”

What about you? Would you and/or your family be a good fit for a retired Military Working Dog, a national hero on four legs?

Click here to participate in honoring  the sacrifices of our devoted, incredible canines and their handlers by making the Working Dog teams National Monument a reality.

A Dog’s View

Cracker! The Best Dog in Vietnam, a novel by Cynthia Kadohata, is one-dog’s first-hand account (yes, it’s told from Cracker’s perspective) of serving in the military in Vietnam. I listened to the audio book on a road trip, and it was riveting! Take it on your next trip. You and everyone in the car will be mesmerized! Here’s a link to more books and videos about military war dogs: http://olive-drab.com/od_wardogs.php

Dedication to Joshua

This blog about Military Working Dogs is lovingly dedicated to Joshua Ben Stewart Selah, my beloved companion for fourteen years, who went to heaven on March 28, 2012. May he rest in peace until we are together again – Jodi Lea Stewart

Joshua

 

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When Joshua went to doggie heaven last week, I was amazed by the kind and sympathetic flood of condolences from people I’ve never met in person, but feel close to on Facebook and Twitter. One thought was paramount – people love animals! And their hearts go out to everyone who loses a four-legged friend. Hope shall always survive where that kind of love abides.

A visit isn’t a visit without a two-way conversation, so I’d love to hear from you.

I truly hope you’ll pick up a copy of my novel Silki, the Girl of Many Scarves: SUMMER OF THE ANCIENT. The print version is on sale at Amazon for only $11.66. For your convenience, it’s also available for Kindle, the Nook and for most other eBook readers. If you love the Southwest and kooky little characters that make you laugh aloud as authentic danger and mystery swirl at every turn, you’ll love this novel!

The second book in the series, CANYON OF DOOM, debuts in early 2013.

While you’re here, please have a look around my website. Tp sign up to receive notices of new blogs, recipes, appearances and media news  leave your email address above. I’ll take care of the rest. Y’all come back soon … I miss you already!

Movies and the Lucky 7

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I’m traveling a different path with this blog as I discuss movies and the Lucky 7 (which I’ll explain later). How do they relate? They don’t!

Bear with me, and we’ll have a little fun.

The movie experience

A fellow writer in our Facebook writing group recently posted a blog about how going to the movies was a cruddy experience and that no movies are worth seeing anyway.

I respectfully disagree.

PopcornEvery Friday night, my hubby and I put on our sweats or jeans and tennis shoes, put our dogs in charge of the house (yes, we let them use weapons!) and head for the movies. I have to admit that my husband and I are both workaholics in our chosen fields, so this Friday night ritual is more than entertainment – it’s a rite of passage into the weekend.

Sitting in the plush, comfortable seats of our favorite theatre with a big bag of delicious popcorn and our cold drinks, we allow our minds to relax and refresh as we totally engage in another world for that brief stretch of time.

I’m the emotional, sensitive type, so I go through the whole gamut of emotions as I munch and crunch my once-a-week popcorn splurge.  I laugh, cry, expect, worry, hope. I sit on the edge of my seat to aid the good guy in his pursuit of justice. I inwardly cheer when a parent understands, a love is reunited, a boy defeats a bad villain, a girl finds her long-lost mother, a country is saved, an evil plan is thwarted.

Sometimes, I lean over and whisper the next line to my hubby. He whispers, “How did you know that?” I whisper back, “I’m a writer.”

It feels wonderful to guess exactly what the screenwriters will “say” next. Try it sometime – you’ll like it!

When hubby and I are not pleased with the ending of a film, we spend many happy moments on the way home discussing how it could have been written differently to give x, y, or z results. That’s better than medicine for a writer’s soul, let me tell you!

I admit that not all movies are worth seeing.  

We’re very selective about the content and intent of what we feed our brains. Additionally, we cringe at some of the trash movies we see adults taking their young children, pre-teens and teens to watch. I feel sorry for those young minds and spirits having to absorb garbage that isn’t productive or positive. End of subject.

People at the Movies

My fellow writer I mentioned earlier said babies cry and people leave their cell phones on and it’s just a generally awful experience in the movie theatre itself. Again, I disagree.

It has been years since I’ve heard a cell phone ring or a baby cry during a movie. Once, a baby started fussing, and the mom immediately took the baby out of the auditorium. End of problem. One time, I forgot to turn my phone off and it rang! I almost died of mortification, but people turned to me and smiled. They understood. No big deal. Hey, we’re out to have fun, not get our rears tied in a knot.

Popcorn

If the popcorn is lousy, I’m not going back. A theatre chain that rhymes with “shave” used to be our favorite, until they started serving popcorn that tasted like cereal. Put it in a bowl, add milk and sugar and you could have breakfast with that dry, tasteless stuff.

To make matters worse, they cut out providing *free* Kernel Season’s Popcorn Seasoning (White Cheddar is to die for), or even making it available to buy in the itty bitty shakers. Big mistake. With so many choices available, why would a business go backward in providing the best for their customers? Mind-boggling.

You knew it was coming:  For whatever reasons…Jodi Lea Stewart’s humble list of favorite movies for 2011.

  • The Iron Lady (what can I say? It’s Meryl Streep in a fascinating role)
  • Water for Elephants (almost as good as the book – rare, indeed)
  • Moneyball (Brad’s best)Water for Elephants
  • Soul Surfer (most inspirational)
  • Sherlock Holmes 2 (lots of sleight-of-hand fun)
  • Hugo Cabret (amazingly imaginative)
  • Larry Crowne (Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts? I’m there)
  • The Ides of March (makes you wish we could have government without politicians)
  • Captain America (standing up for mom, apple pie, and the American way!)
  • Real Steel (you’ll cheer at the end)
  • The Help (fab, except for the pie thing…should have just added ex-lax)
  • Thor (Chris Hemsworth is just so…so…well, anyway)
  • Tower Heist (stupid, corny and makes you laugh)
  • Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas – enough said.)
  • Limitless (if you read my blog about Squeeze, this guy got into it and added steroids!)
  • The Lincoln Lawyer (more Matthew McConaughey movies, please)

What is Lucky 7?

Lucky 7 is a little tornado that blew into our WANA112 writing group recently.Lucky 7 Meme

Here are the rules of the game:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS/WIP
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next 7 lines, sentences, or paragraphs, and post them as they’re written.
4. Tag 7 authors, and let them know.

If you don’t yet have 77 pages of your current work in progress completed, just choose the first seven sentences.

I’m tagging my authors first. Only one author is in our writing group, but that adds a nice bit of seasoning – sort of how Kernel season’s White Cheddar seasoning livens up popcorn, you know?

Nikki McCormack, Kristen Lamb, J.r. Sanders, Chris Eboch, Carol Buchanan, Sue Cauhape, Dutch Henry

Here are the nine (shh!) seven sentences from my current Work in Progress: Silki, the Girl of Many Scarves: CANYON OF DOOM

♥

A shaky sigh rose from my stomach and leaked out as a sob.

“Stop bawling!” Talastic ordered, frowning at me like I had two heads. Her scowl dissolved into quivers. “I don’t want to live, Silki…I just…”

She closed her eyes. Teardrops pushed past her eyelashes and raced down her dirty cheeks. Her whole body shook as she shrieked and pounded the ground with her fists. I stared at the sky so Talastic and her sorrow could be alone.

Would her outburst cleanse her soul of its torment?

♥

So there you have it – my blog featuring two very different subjects that purposely don’t tie into each other. I had oodles of fun, and I hope you did, too.

 

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Of course, a visit isn’t a visit without a two-way conversation. I know you’ll have lots to say after reading  our seven tagged authors’ Lucky 7 lines, so fire away!

I truly hope you’ll pick up a copy of my novel Silki, the Girl of Many Scarves: SUMMER OF THE ANCIENT. The print version is on sale at Amazon for only $11.21!!! For your convenience, it’s also available for Kindle, the Nook and for most other eBook readers. If you love the Southwest and kooky little characters that make you laugh aloud as authentic danger and mystery swirl at every turn, you’ll love this novel! The second book in the series, CANYON OF DOOM, debuts in early 2013.

While you’re here, please have a look around my website. To sign up to receive notices of my new blogs, recipes, appearances and media news, just leave your email address above. I’ll take care of the rest. Y’all come back soon … I miss you already!

 

Sassy Sassafras Tea

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  • Sassafras Root
  • Water (at least 1 quart)
  • Cream and sugar (optional)

Dig up several roots from a sassafras tree (or order online). Rinse thoroughly until clean. Depending on the size of the root(s), place in a large pot or teakettle. Boil to desired strength.

The tea will be a pale-pinkish-brown. The pinker the tea, the stronger it is. Add sugar and/or cream if desired. Drink hot or cold.

Keep in a pot on the back of the stove. You can refill the pot with water and boil it again for more tea.

Comment:  Chewing on a piece of raw root cleans your teeth and freshens your breath – Everett Woods (Woods kid #1, 1910-1996)

Comment:  Drink this tea every spring to “thin your blood” – Elmer Woods (Granddad aka Pa Dubie) 

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Of course, a visit isn’t a visit without a two-way conversation. I really want to hear from you.

I truly hope you’ll pick up a copy of my novel Silki, the Girl of Many Scarves: SUMMER OF THE ANCIENT. The print version is on sale at Amazon for only $11.21!!! For your convenience, it’s also available for Kindle, the Nook and for most other eBook readers. If you love the Southwest and kooky little characters that make you laugh aloud as authentic danger and mystery swirl at every turn, you’ll love this novel! The second book in the series, CANYON OF DOOM, debuts in early 2013.

While you’re here, please have a look around my website. To sign up to receive notices of my new blogs, recipes, appearances and media news, just leave your email address above. I’ll take care of the rest. Y’all come back soon … I miss you already!

Sassy Sassafras

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My granddad Elmer learned a lot from the Five Civilized Tribes…medicine, ceremonial dancing and how to survive.

After his mother died giving birth to him and his twin sister, his sister was sent to live with relatives in the Pacific Northwest. Elmer headed to Indian Territory, Oklahoma, in a covered wagon with his mother’s brother and his wife. He was two weeks old, and the year was 1884.

Native American Ways

Indian Territory consisted of the lands of the Five Civilized Tribes: Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks and Seminoles, along with twenty-two other tribes.

Elmer got along well with his Native American neighbors. They trusted him enough to let him dance with them whenever he wanted. They taught him their secrets of survival, like how to use roots, leaves, bark and plants to make medicines.

He used that knowledge for his family, and for others, his whole life. The longevity his eleven children enjoyed speaks for the wisdom of those natural preventives.

Case in point – my mother. She’s 86 years young and still bakes the best pies you ever tasted, does her own grocery shopping, drives thousands of miles by herself and can still cut a rug when she really wants to.

She’s Elmer’s eighth child, and one of the tonics she grew up on was sassafras tea.

Thinning (purifying) the blood

Elmer insisted that his family members drink sassafras tea liberally every spring to thin their blood after the long, harsh Oklahoma and Missouri winters.

Sassafras trees, with their irregular lobed leaves and aromatic bark, grew wild and plentiful in the woods. Elmer gathered roots every spring. After thoroughly cleaning a root, or hunks ofSassafrass Roots root, he placed it in a pot of water to boil. Soon, the water turned a beautiful clear pink. When the family was fortunate enough to buy sugar, they added it to the spicy tea, along with fresh cow cream.

It didn’t take much persuasion for eleven little country kids to want to start thinning their blood and ridding themselves of their sluggish winter bodies!

As a very young child, I remember seeing a pan on my grandma’s stove with a big tree root poking out of the top. That was fascinating! The tea tasted wonderful, and I wanted lots and lots.

Later on, when I was a teenager and more snooty sophisticated, I doubted my granddad’s theory about sassafras tea thinning the blood.

How ridiculous, I thought.

Pure folklore.

Dumb.

Then I grew enough brain cells to check it out for myself.

I found out that sassafras tea is recognized as a natural anticoagulant.

Anticoagulant = blood thinner. Fancy that.

Ever notice how much smarter grownups got after our teen years?

In early America, sassafras and tobacco were the main exports from the colonies to England. Sassafras was revered for its medicinal qualities, as well as for the beauty of its wood.

Alas, sassafras tree byproducts, including sassafras tea, are controversial these days, which is why it isn’t the main ingredient in root beer anymore.

The dried and ground sassafras leaves are still used to make filé powder for certain types of gumbo.

And lots of people just go right on using the mysterious tree’s bark, leaves and roots.

A good argument in favor of doing that might be my granddad. He lived into his eighties with no medicines other than the natural ones he learned from The Five Civilized Tribes. He hand-delivered all of his eleven children, survived total economic depression with nothing but his two hands to make a living and played a mean banjo and fiddle with no lessons.

Maybe there really is something to “thinning the blood” with sassafras tea every spring. You think?

Have you ever tasted sassafras tea? Did you know it was the main flavoring in root beer at one time, or that some people thought of the sassafras tree as the root beer tree? Did your family use any old-timey “medicines” that didn’t come from a pharmacy? Tell us about it. We’d love to hear about it!

 

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Of course, a visit isn’t a visit without a two-way conversation. I really want to hear from you.

I truly hope you’ll pick up a copy of my novel Silki, the Girl of Many Scarves: SUMMER OF THE ANCIENT. The print version is on sale at Amazon for only $11.21!!! For your convenience, it’s also available for Kindle, the Nook and for most other eBook readers. If you love the Southwest and kooky little characters that make you laugh aloud as authentic danger and mystery swirl at every turn, you’ll love this novel! The second book in the series, CANYON OF DOOM, debuts in early 2013.

While you’re here, please have a look around my website. To sign up to receive notices of my new blogs, recipes, appearances and media news, just leave your email address above. I’ll take care of the rest. Y’all come back soon … I miss you already!