Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Research

I am Senior Living editor at Bella Online. I met a veterans' service representative through my work there. He is a sergeant retired. I asked him about ICE and if they would be the right government organization to find the information I need for the career of the heroin in my novel. He came through like gang busters!!! I have plenty to read tonight.

I spent much of today trying to write an article for FRC. Then, just less than half an hour ago I realized that the article already is written and sent. I don't have to worry about writing an article tonight! Yes! So I can focus on the research reading and novel editing. Yes!

I have imposed a July 16 deadline for completing this novel. Carl asked if I would still want to read any information he can obtain from his contacts. Will I really have the book done by July 16? I want to, but the days are ticking off and I'm not getting close enough to finished.

Monday, June 18, 2007

Eight unique things about me

Hello everyone,
I have been tagged by Nancy Louise McCormick-Kovacich and now I'm tagging YOU. What you have to do, is come up with 8 unique things about yourself, blog about them, then tag 8 more people.
Simple enough, right? Check out another friend's blog at:
http://joyceanthony.tripod.com/blog to see how it's done. If you do or don't want to participate, please leave a message in my comments letting me know, okay?
Cathy Brownfield
cbrownfiel@sbcglobal.net

Eight unique things about me

1.) I proved that you don't need a college degree to enjoy a caareer as reporter, photographer, editor and/or publisher in newspapers. My major was elementary education and I had to drop out of college at one hour from senior standing because I was put on complete bedrest with a multiple pregnancy. I never had a journalism class. I learned on the job at a weekly newspaper and worked my way to lifestyles editor at a daily newspaper.

2.) One of my best childhood friends struggled through the school year when our teacher, Mrs. Pike, had a heart attack. We had a series of substitute teachers that year. My mom has said many times that my playing school with Linda is what got her through that year and passed into the next grade.

3.) I was never a child. I was always a grown-up little person. I didn't spend much of my preschool years playing with children my age. I was always with adults.

4.) I am the eldest child and have two brothers. Billy is two years younger than me. He went with us the day Mom took me to my first day of kindergarten. I cried because I had to stay. Billy creid because he had to leave.

5.) I hated kindergarten. I didn't want to learn to play. I already knew how to do that. I knew small words, my numbers, how to write my name. I was teaching myself to read. I wanted meat, not baby food.

6.) Girls softball didn't exist in our area when I was growing up, so I couldn't play in a league. A girl play boys baseball??? But many days we had enough kids to choose team captains who picked their teams and we played baseball at the corner of North Beaver and West Spruce streets. A ball hit over the church building was a home run. And the one that went through the window was, too. (The elders still wouldn't stop us playing because they knew when we were playing baseball we didn't have time to get in trouble.) I LOVED playing baseball! There's nothing that feels like a solid connect when you bring that bat around and send that ball flying!

7.) My maternal grandmother lived four doors down from us. My brother Billy and I went to her house and climbed the outside stairs to her house. She wasn't home. A neighbor called my paternal grandmother to advise her that my mother wasn't paying any attention to us. Grandma sent my uncle to get the two of us. Mom couldn't find us. Grandma called her and told her where we were and that she wasn't giving us back. Mom told her that if she didn't give us back Mom would have her and my uncle charged with kidnapping and she'd never see us again. Grandma returned us.

8.) My great-great grandmother, Louisa Jane Clarke Skipp, insisted her daughter Alice (my great grandmother/, was related to Queen Victoria. Other family stories say she wasn't related but was either in Victoria's Court or a servant. Alice was very genteel. I'm thinking that she would know what her mother's station was. On the other side of my mother's family, her paternal grandmother was a Campbell. Alexander Campbell was in the region when that generation was living. Are we related? I don't know yet.