Johnny Krol is a reoccurring character we haven’t talked much about yet which is a surprise because I love reading about her. Don’t get her confused with Johnny Lech – especially in the upcoming posts as Johnny L. is going to take a larger role. No, I’m talking about Johnny Krol. She has been friends…
Tag: creative nonfiction
A Brief History of Dance
In last Saturday’s post, I wrote about how Babu was getting out of the house and having more fun. If you couldn’t have guessed, most of the outings are to dances. Monday, October 11th, 1937 Registered at cooking school and made breakfast. Zosh wore Helen Oparowski’s dress to the banquet. She looked lovely. Nat and…
October, 1937
Things begin to change for Babu midway through this month. The dark cloud over her head mostly dissipates. Instead of statements about eating lunch alone, she writes about staying out late five nights in a row and things like this: Feel like a stranger in my own home since I’ve been out so much lately….
If You Look Closely Enough
…you will find some simple things she writes pure magic. Thursday, September 2nd, 1937 Tonight I went to confession. It was good to be there in the friendly dark. I lit a candle for myself too. Stopped in at Zosh’s and met some people from Detroit and Buffalo. Drobe walked a part of the way…
Excerpts, August, 1937 “Nothing Exciting Happens Now”
There isn’t much that excites me more about this process then finding evidence in these pages of stories she has told me many times. Babu had basically one job in her lifetime and she has talked to me about it many times. She worked for Hitchcock and Company as a secretary. They had offices in…
August, 1937
Her life has shifted. There was a rite of passage, clear as day. She is no longer a child. Not in habits, not in routine, or responsibilities. She is still pinning for Benny: On the way home thought I saw Benny. I wonder? Oh, will I ever get over him. When I’m alone I think…
Miss Drude
I waited for Babu to graduate before writing this post but I’ve been gathering data on this and thinking about this post for a while. I was a teacher for 10 years so I pay attention to her teachers and what education was like in the 30s. (It seems pretty much the same, by the…
The Dark Side: In Honor of Norma Harry
I write a lot about contrasts in this blog. That is life. The good and evil. Sometimes just the kinda good and kinda bad. As a writer, I look for structure. I look for patterns and the way this life story is told. It’s eerie that those patterns happen, in non intentional nonfiction. She isn’t…
Blessed Life! But What Comes Next?
I often wonder if Babu realized how privileged and blessed she was. Her teenage life is one of constant dances, experiences, friends, clothes, and comfort. I know, she’s lonely and insecure. She doesn’t understand why she faces constant rejection, but still! I look at her life and feel pretty jealous. This is THE GREAT DEPRESSION…
July, 1937
There is much to celebrate in the heat of July. Babu says that she will “melt like a piece of wax one of these days,” yet things move along swimmingly. (Kind of.) All About Benny: The month begins with the sentence: I guess I needn’t have worried about Benny. She didn’t know if he would…
Sharing with Babu, Less is More
Taking care of someone who is nearly 99 takes constant readjustment. What she can do, what is good for her and in what amounts, differ even during the same day. I shared some passages with Babu again, and this time kept it shorter, telling her that’s all I had for today rather than asking her…
The Case of the Peanuts
Thursday, June 10th, 1937 We went to the circus (Cole Brother’s) tonight, Benny, I and Ernie and Charles, Lincoln, and Budson. Oh! It was wonderful. We had three pounds of peanuts, but we got there late to feed the elephants, so we fed ourselves. After the show we went to “Dutchland” for ice-cream, and thence…
transcribingmemory 