Tag: United States
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Book Review: Leaving Before the Rains Come
“‘The problem with most people,’ Dad said once, not necessarily implying that I counted as most people, but not discounting the possibility either, ‘is that they want to be alive for as long as possible without having any idea whatsoever how to live.’” Alexandra Fuller learned from her parents how to live. She has lived enough…
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W is for Weehawken
“Sunset on the Hudson waterfront” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by joiseyshowaa It was the summer that changed my life–1968. I spent it in New Jersey where I shared a house in Union City with seven other young women, all college students, while we volunteered in an interdenominational arts/crafts/recreation program for elementary school-aged children. The church where I volunteered was…
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V is for Virginia
“Wreaths Across America Sunset at Arlingt” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by joseph.gruber One of the original 13 colonies, Virginia became my home state when I joined the US Department of State in 1985. For the first six months of my career as a Foreign Service Officer, I lived in a studio apartment at the top of a hill overlooking the Iwo…
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S is for San Francisco
“San Francisco” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by Pedro J. Jiménez From January 1973 through March 1975, I lived in San Francisco while studying at San Francisco State University. Before I enrolled, a package from the registrar’s office arrived with a list of what I needed to bring with me on the day of registration. One requirement: the result of a chest…
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N is for North Dakota
“John Deere Combine” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by SnoShuu One of my favorite posters during my college days was a white background with a single black line drawn across it from left to right. It wasn’t a straight line, but almost. It ran parallel to the bottom of the poster for about two thirds of the way and then…
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L is for Lake Winnibigoshish
“Minnesota Lakes” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by evinella I thought I was too old for family vacations. I wanted to stay home, alone, while my parents took my five siblings. Dad wouldn’t say where we were going. He had never done that before–not told us. But Mom insisted I not stay home alone. I don’t think she thought I…
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F is for Fargo
“fargo” (CC BY-NC 2.0) by almostsummersky I arrived in Fargo by way of St. Luke’s Hospital, my birthplace. While I never lived in Fargo–my family lived across the Red River of the North in Moorhead, Minnesota–there is no denying that Fargo had a big impact on my life. And initially, all I wanted was to get away from…
Sandra Yeaman 