tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79181786864669150072024-02-22T11:25:50.602-06:00Road WriterTravel Stories in which the people are as important as the placesBeryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.comBlogger98125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-16859069978105923142021-08-30T13:39:00.000-06:002021-08-30T13:39:33.418-06:00Taken by Surprise<p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span style="color: black; mso-color-alt: windowtext;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/reviews/edit-review/ref=cm_cr_srp_d_vote_edit?ie=UTF8&asin=B07MGS81WS&reviewID=R1DEUAB8RZXH8C"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="border: 1pt none windowtext; color: #0f1111; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0in; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; padding: 0in;"><br /></span></a></span><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjZVGCWXEI1eAKKex_zS8vpnWcMxzCEvQ_WjdhfvkvD8Lbpec2aB5GEYm1mnABjPJNVEPWYzaDhFGNVz_iydMgqnFq_QrTxe709DKVouD5zDQbR3uuXKRMtoapnCjILjfh9wJ0rEZ8Ix2/s499/pioneers+mccough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="336" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjZVGCWXEI1eAKKex_zS8vpnWcMxzCEvQ_WjdhfvkvD8Lbpec2aB5GEYm1mnABjPJNVEPWYzaDhFGNVz_iydMgqnFq_QrTxe709DKVouD5zDQbR3uuXKRMtoapnCjILjfh9wJ0rEZ8Ix2/s320/pioneers+mccough.jpg" width="215" /></a></span></div><span face=""Arial",sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />I wasn’t sure I’d like Pulitzer Prize winning author David McCullough's <i><b>Pioneers</b></i> when I first began reading it. I'd expected a historical novel and this was a nonfiction historical work. I knew nothing about the work of the courageous and broad-minded people who were instrumental in opening the vast Northwest Territory, ceded to the US by Britain, </span><span face="Hind, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">to veterans of the Revolutionary War and their families for settlement. </span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 12pt;">I waded through the opening chapters that dealt with the remarkably talented New England minister Manasseh Cutler's travels throughout the east without realizing why he was meeting with the great men of the era and struggling to convince them of this effort. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111; font-size: 12pt;">As I read on, I became entranced by the
descriptions of the courageous men and open-minded men who must have given
up sleeping to accomplish all they did. Creating charter for government known as the Northwest Ordinance </span><span face="Hind, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">which included three remarkable conditions: freedom of religion, free universal education, and most importantly, the prohibition of slavery.</span><span face="Hind, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span face="Hind, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">The stories of the early migration made for some harrowing experiences. They "</span></span><span face="Hind, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">crossed raging rivers, chopped</span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span face="Hind, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"><br /></span></div><span face="Hind, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;"><br /> down forests, plowed miles of land, suffered incalculable hardships, and braved a lonely frontier to forge a new American ideal” (</span><i style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #0a0a0a; font-family: Hind, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; letter-spacing: 0.2px;">The Providence Journal</i><span face="Hind, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0a0a0a;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0.2px;">). As I read their stories, I felt a surge of joy and inspiration despite the darkness of the times in which we now live.</span></span><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;"><span face="Arial, sans-serif" style="color: #0f1111;">This is a book for now. One that I think should be in the hands of and on the bookshelves of every politician and citizen of the nation. This is the power of history, well researched and told. what happened then can, and will, happen again. The good and the bad. History is a great wheel that rolls over the same ground of human experience. It can be guided one way or another provided we look to the past even as we hope toward the future.</span></p><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-70674668839305318142021-07-17T15:54:00.000-06:002021-07-17T15:55:47.749-06:00The cry for water<p> Dear Reader,</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 304.8pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-nuQPiDJ1mP0Az2dF0Jg9v6Ag8MnEcv_cUC31rHEZuxbCLiW8w0izqsF1CNp7DRSEPDvclCOI0eSAmAruxhZBQgggmIMVg79UHD4EDfYqVPDJWV9_o_uzc41LGxtuhvzGgmpvgfYsaO5/s300/watershed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil-nuQPiDJ1mP0Az2dF0Jg9v6Ag8MnEcv_cUC31rHEZuxbCLiW8w0izqsF1CNp7DRSEPDvclCOI0eSAmAruxhZBQgggmIMVg79UHD4EDfYqVPDJWV9_o_uzc41LGxtuhvzGgmpvgfYsaO5/s0/watershed.jpg" /></a></div><br />During the late nineties, I was a member
of a small but intense writing group with author Ranae Hanson. Her work while
there thrilled me. Her essays were lyric, powerful, personal, and revolved
around her experience of growing up in a remote and beautiful area nourished by
lakes and rivers. She showed no interest, however, in getting them published.<o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 304.8pt;">When I asked why, I recall she
said that the places she wrote about were too sacred to share. They needed to
be protected. They were vulnerable to man’s predation. Her response puzzled me.
Shouldn’t we celebrate the beauties of this world? Share our love of this world
with others? Reveal our perceptions? <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 304.8pt;">At the time, I didn’t know how
deeply she cared about the earth and the environmental crises it faced. I
accepted that it was enough that she share her gifts by teaching immigrants and
the underprivileged to write. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 304.8pt;">When she suddenly became deathly
ill with severe Type I diabetes, she began to recognize how closely the
planet’s struggle with climate change mirrored her struggle with diabetes.
First symptoms: drought, and thirst. The melting of the glaciers and permafrost,
her bodily cells malfunctioning. The rising sea and scarcity of potable water,
her body overwhelmed by need and so on. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 304.8pt;">The book's jacket can perhaps best
explain how Hanson structured her memoir. Rich shades of green, black, and
gold, capture a meandering river that weaves in a southerly direction through a
densely wooded landscape. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 304.8pt;">The contents wander in much the
same way. From childhood memories to climate refugees’ experiences. From the
violent intersection of devastating personal illness with the trauma nature
suffers from mankind’s ignorance and greed. The search to understand what’s
happening and taking steps to undo or mitigate the damage. And peppered
throughout Hanson meditative reflections and guides to ponder and use in our
own journey through the watershed of our lives.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 304.8pt;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><br /></i></div><i><br />Watershed</i> reminds me of the
way sunlight can pierce the evening’s approaching darkness, shimmering through
leaves and across pastures and farmland, lighting the joy in a child’s eyes,
sharpening shadows, and softening night’s approach. <o:p></o:p><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-88371727002515173372021-05-22T10:03:00.000-06:002021-05-22T10:03:50.381-06:00<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRtPeqyjF3ksJI8fTxnOxX2_yfGOSY7ZdgOh8uLnUzkyegQUY1-YlgG7CHbyuwwSnjW89hYqlZ8hiukDDff3HKlNActcD6Ej1YDAaSzt1rLxWkX6K4y79gy1z1H63fAjYn6vD_ax3Xzu0f/s650/Trumpeter+Swan+landing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="433" data-original-width="650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRtPeqyjF3ksJI8fTxnOxX2_yfGOSY7ZdgOh8uLnUzkyegQUY1-YlgG7CHbyuwwSnjW89hYqlZ8hiukDDff3HKlNActcD6Ej1YDAaSzt1rLxWkX6K4y79gy1z1H63fAjYn6vD_ax3Xzu0f/s320/Trumpeter+Swan+landing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h1 align="center" style="text-align: center;">A Lake Superior
Morning<o:p></o:p></h1>
<h1 align="center" style="text-align: center;">in Roseville<o:p></o:p></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">There was a
time when inspiration leaped at me. Surrounded me, surprised and awed me. Those
were Lake Superior Days. I wrote columns about them. I wrote a book about them.
Then we moved.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">Recently, I
woke to find Lake Superior beckoning from our bedroom window in Roseville,
where we now live. A band of heavy blue, spanning the horizon to the southwest with
no end in sight as it had in Schroeder. The thrill was momentary of course, my
rational brain denied the Lake’s presence in south central Minnesota. It was a
day of miracles, nonetheless.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A walk in
Central Park that afternoon, revealed tiny blue violets carpeting the ground,
reminding me of my daily walks on the Superior Hiking Trail, as I followed the
birth of a spring landscape from flower to flower: Bloodroot, Dutchman’s
britches and marsh marigolds as they pushed their way toward the sun. In
Roseville where we now live, spring perennials do not appear in such abundance,
but the violets adorn the trails. Miracles too.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">During that
same walk, I also witnessed what I had never seen on Lake Superior, the
touchdown of seven magnificent Trumpeter Swans. With a raucous babble of loud bugles
and horns, their arrival shattered the silence. Eight-foot wingspans battled
for space, so heavy that they scooped rather than touched the lake as they
landed. The first to find balance rocketed after others, necks stretched low
and long like glorious white shafts of light.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">I imagine
that you, like I, have experienced a sense of lightening with the gradual
lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. Leaving the apartment without donning my mask
feels strange. A feeling of being exposed, the air fresh around my face, my expressions
no longer limited to crinkled eyes – Covid’s simulated smiles of greeting and
pleasure. While others enjoy a greater sense of freedom, Bill and I find our
lives more confined as his increased need for oxygen demands we limit our
departures from the residence to less than two hours. Because his health is so
at risk, we wear or carry masks wherever we go.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">When I
returned from my walk in Central Park, I came across these lovely words from
Mary Oliver.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 8.0pt; margin-left: .5in; margin-right: .5in; margin-top: 0in;"><b><span style="font-family: "Calibri Light",sans-serif; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-bidi-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">But I also say this: that light/
is an invitation to happiness/ and that happiness/ when it’s done right/ is a
kind of holiness/ palpable and redemptive.</span></b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">May your
lives be filled with light and happiness. May holiness become a daily
experience.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 121.2pt;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p><br /><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-33000610398463549622021-03-25T21:12:00.016-06:002021-03-26T10:25:33.451-06:00Missing Gather<p><span style="font-size: 14pt;">In an era
when the internet spawned networking communities like geysers in a desert,
Gather.com was one of the first to appear. When it was launched on the web in
2005, Gather.com was touted as a Myspace of Friendster for a literate audience,
with the emphasis on content. </span><span style="font-size: 14pt;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">I first
learned about Gather, when Minnesota Public Radio announced it was helping
launch an online community focused on the older demographic (users over
thirty). I had just signed a contract with Counterpoint NY for my first book<i>,
The Scent of God: A Memoir. </i>The publisher suggested I join an online
community to help build a platform. I knew nothing about social networking save
that it was geared toward younger people. Learning that Gather’s emphasis was
on the “older generation” with a focus on content of substance, I viewed it as
a Godsend. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">The first step
to joining was coining a username. But what was a username? I muddled around a
bit before hitting the “Contact Gather” link. I heard back that same day from
David Cooperstein, Gather’s VP, Editor-in-Chief who gently suggested “Beryl” as
my username. And voila! I entered a newly burgeoning network of users, my first
“Friend” being David himself. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">As my
contacts multiplied, I spent an inordinate amount of time linking with Gather.
We had no satellite or high-speed cable where we lived and connecting by phone
was desperately slow. But I loved Gather from the start. Connecting with
thoughtful, creative, and generous “friends” was like finding a family and
mentor at the same time. I often worked into the wee hours of the morning,
loving every minute spent with Gather members though frustrated with the time
it took to load photos. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrv0ObQ4VYNKERpcr3Yox_YkzfYvXOGlQj4d0ac51FWAVWJ_2f_eH_vJfYHmIYh4Tmg7Zq7UJEsDkNDiaGTMU60SdgLZQu3rcvzXqZYM10jfve0a9ZhxbrwKCQgZcEiXcFLyyYWFNpsGoQ/s640/Beryl+Reading.JPG" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrv0ObQ4VYNKERpcr3Yox_YkzfYvXOGlQj4d0ac51FWAVWJ_2f_eH_vJfYHmIYh4Tmg7Zq7UJEsDkNDiaGTMU60SdgLZQu3rcvzXqZYM10jfve0a9ZhxbrwKCQgZcEiXcFLyyYWFNpsGoQ/w200-h150/Beryl+Reading.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Beryl at Harvard Bookstore</b></span></td></tr></tbody></table>By the time
my book came out in April 2006, I had developed a wonderful community of Gather
friends. My very first reading/signing event took place at the Harvard Bookstore
in Boston. It seemed such an intellectual place to do a reading and I couldn’t
imagine how I would draw an audience for my memoir. Gather, whose headquarters were in Boston invited me to visit and
introduced me to staff. That evening Gather staff joined Gather friends who
lived in an around Boston and filled the space. Seeing them there, was such a
relief I was no longer nervous. We celebrated afterwards with beer and fries at
a local Pub.</span></div><o:p></o:p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Later that
summer, Cooperstein left a message on my phone, inviting me to
Gather’s first anniversary bash: a "Book It To Bermuda Cruise,” as one of
their featured speakers. My husband Bill and I spent five days eating in luxury, attending shows, lounging in deck chairs with
fancy drinks, and meeting people. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOi9SIBNd7dkBDM4UU6Q4ZEEbEzVj4JF-KS6ctvWBixCYGeTBYg6FyT2MLfWoip4UF-kj0oSCyI-Y1Izxm7p4m1d0bsUKCqTHrAZ3ugZ6R2ECVEtxqZ6kXLxPG03OTYcPbNqDhG5a7FCcr/s640/Beryl+book+it+to+Bermuda.JPG" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="640" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOi9SIBNd7dkBDM4UU6Q4ZEEbEzVj4JF-KS6ctvWBixCYGeTBYg6FyT2MLfWoip4UF-kj0oSCyI-Y1Izxm7p4m1d0bsUKCqTHrAZ3ugZ6R2ECVEtxqZ6kXLxPG03OTYcPbNqDhG5a7FCcr/w200-h150/Beryl+book+it+to+Bermuda.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: x-small;">beryl speaking on cruise</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">The return leg of the trip featured the
author readings. That day, the ship was tossed like</span><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;">a cork on an angry sea,
water sloshing from the pools, walkers clinging to the banisters along the
halls. As the first speaker, I began to speak behind a podium that rolled from
one side of the room to the other until a staff member led me to a comfortable
stable chair. Despite the rough seas, no one evacuated their seats during my
talk, hands clapped over mouths as I expected. They even waited in line to buy
books until there were no more to sell or sign.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; text-align: justify;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 107%;">As Gather’s membership
swelled, we never dreamed that Gather would not be our forever community. In
2014 Kitara Media bought it and though it intended to keep the structure alive,
it soon fell apart and took most of our work with it. While some were able to
rescue their work before it disappeared into the stratosphere, most of us lost
our postings, comments, and lists of our friends.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"></p><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; text-align: left;">Facebook offered
a possible alternative, but I didn't care for its structure and kept my distance until recently, when I noticed Thomas Spainhour
working to link Gatherers with their Facebook identity if they had one. The sole purpose of this group, </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/354668231667237" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Refugees from Gather</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">,</span></span><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%; text-align: left;"> is to be a “resource for
Facebook users who are former members of Gather to reconnect with others from those years BF (Before Facebook).” This group is
growing rapidly as he tracks down and matches possible links.</span></div><p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 107%;">Inspired by
his efforts and warmed to see names appearing that I once knew so well, I
needed to refresh those early Gather memories. What were your first experiences in online networking? I imagine you have stories you
want share as well. I hope you will.</span> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-49657082464837364542021-03-05T11:28:00.002-06:002021-03-05T11:38:16.966-06:00Waiting for Snow in Havana <p></p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="big450BoxBody" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: repeat-y; color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><div class="big450BoxContent" style="overflow: hidden; width: 430px;"><div class="reviewText mediumText description readable" itemprop="reviewBody" style="font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><br /></div></div></div></div></blockquote><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="big450BoxBody" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: repeat-y; text-align: left;"><div class="big450BoxContent" style="overflow: hidden; width: 430px;"><div class="reviewText mediumText description readable" itemprop="reviewBody" style="line-height: 21px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2zGqhyD40kK_9qeWnutFFye7dmB9HswJTORctvZOsU7_mCdqSniTXL_OaVWzkOKfdoOnFxGes_BQUAjKlk8ZRENYSyG3Vl7SyIyQh40geEs9v9fB-vvbuF5mR8GfY0U6pBozsuuSOKKOL/s499/waiting+for+snow+in+Havana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="325" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2zGqhyD40kK_9qeWnutFFye7dmB9HswJTORctvZOsU7_mCdqSniTXL_OaVWzkOKfdoOnFxGes_BQUAjKlk8ZRENYSyG3Vl7SyIyQh40geEs9v9fB-vvbuF5mR8GfY0U6pBozsuuSOKKOL/s320/waiting+for+snow+in+Havana.jpg" /></a></div><br />While put off at first by the violent dangerous games this boy and his friends indulged in, I became quite fond of him. He had sparkling humor that lightened the dark theme of Fidel Castro's takeover from dictator Baptista and the exodus of thousands of children who were sent from Cuba to Miami in the early 1960s, as part of a U.S. government program called Operation Pedro Pan. I was captured by the brilliant meanderings of his mind as the book progressed, taking him from the insecurity of transition to adulthood and was fascinated with his preoccupation with religion and search for a God he could believe in.</span></div><div class="big450BoxBody" style="background-repeat: repeat-y; color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><div class="big450BoxContent" style="overflow: hidden; text-align: justify; width: 430px;"><div id="review-like" style="float: right; margin-top: 8px; text-align: right;"></div><div id="review-follow" style="margin-top: 8px;"></div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: #181818; font-family: Merriweather, Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px;"><br /></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></blockquote><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="big450BoxBody" style="background-color: white; background-repeat: repeat-y; color: #181818; font-family: Lato, "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><div class="big450BoxContent" style="overflow: hidden; width: 430px;"><div><br /></div><div id="review-like" style="float: right; margin-top: 8px; text-align: right;"></div><div id="review-follow" style="margin-top: 8px;"></div></div></div></div><p></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-42226734028151752792020-12-28T16:34:00.002-06:002021-03-05T11:44:55.782-06:00<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wo9XrkZwaVdgCOQSLo-_A1-0Lte0P3-AJuft_5XbEYx5lg8SOGuuO6_TO7wCjvXeGGNWVpAc5qFWW4-9hM_bWd8-E8bWnj93JrRaypfGoat_coJ5FoEPY208GAb5Y4Rr7Trz9qlpVlOc/s500/The+Walls+of+Lucca.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="343" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0wo9XrkZwaVdgCOQSLo-_A1-0Lte0P3-AJuft_5XbEYx5lg8SOGuuO6_TO7wCjvXeGGNWVpAc5qFWW4-9hM_bWd8-E8bWnj93JrRaypfGoat_coJ5FoEPY208GAb5Y4Rr7Trz9qlpVlOc/s320/The+Walls+of+Lucca.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><div><i><b>The Walls of Lucca </b></i>by Steve Physioc</div><div><br /></div><div>This is a beautifully told story of love, war, political
upheaval that takes shape in the trenches of world war one, expands into the
idyllic Tuscan landscape of vineyards and olive orchards. The lives of loves of
three families dominate the story as they wrestle to better their lives and
improve their fortunes against the forces of fascism and domination that take
root in their midst.<p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal">I was drawn into this story by the power of joy and love
manifested by Isabella, an orphan raised in a convent who gives herself without
limit to healing those around her. At times, I wondered if I was reading about
a medieval saint rather than the feisty and frank your woman she was. As I
read, I realized that this story must have a sequel to resolve all the
questions it raises and situations that the reader knows lie ahead. <o:p></o:p></p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-18096364870822641392020-12-21T15:46:00.005-06:002020-12-28T16:29:11.817-06:00The Shortest Day by Colm Toibin<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhY5kEQXBke0nS5BaJdHbk0h1Put0XoIDGpM5013C0Sq5foFpRzXoQea9Ax3chEpu52fbgBIGaXSDTt7ZvJqn4aY2BcwqVKESnBklo0nqNPjBmKx-xRyEb6eiRoecuV_X6TtdXDvPr2xeu/s480/The+shortest+Day.webp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="320" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhY5kEQXBke0nS5BaJdHbk0h1Put0XoIDGpM5013C0Sq5foFpRzXoQea9Ax3chEpu52fbgBIGaXSDTt7ZvJqn4aY2BcwqVKESnBklo0nqNPjBmKx-xRyEb6eiRoecuV_X6TtdXDvPr2xeu/s320/The+shortest+Day.webp" /></a></div><br /> Too soon, and too intriguing to stop.<p></p><p><br />Little did I realize when I began reading this book, that it would be so short. No, I groaned. I want to know how and why Professor O’Kelly’s life would change after witnessing the elusive but certain shaft of sunlight that pierces the ancient tomb during the winter solstice. How it might or might not affect the lives of the dead entombed there. Who were not afraid of the unknown but honored and lived with uncertainty? Who were these dead who whispered through the long dark of each year? A tomb older than Stonehenge and the pyramids yet built with exquisite designs, spirals, and other geometric shapes.</p><p><br /><br /><br /></p><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-33265378861145459872020-08-31T09:55:00.000-06:002020-08-31T13:15:07.087-06:00The Scent of God Now Available in a New Edition<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbML79BW9PA77j4EyyNfv7jBDgGgcDvrbdfYTcj3191R5Z3I4qbbT7FjiPbmj8lQMJisteXGUDi4yZJ4HWrmsA8-In31KTdUEiBs3Vu6Y70vCMYSbUylHDsxDuIftENj5LldQPsj2Z7w1d/s1600/Scent+of+God+Cover+New+Edition+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="543" data-original-width="407" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbML79BW9PA77j4EyyNfv7jBDgGgcDvrbdfYTcj3191R5Z3I4qbbT7FjiPbmj8lQMJisteXGUDi4yZJ4HWrmsA8-In31KTdUEiBs3Vu6Y70vCMYSbUylHDsxDuIftENj5LldQPsj2Z7w1d/s320/Scent+of+God+Cover+New+Edition+%25282%2529.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<span style="font-weight: normal;">Originally published by Counterpoint NY in 2006 (hard cover)
and in 2007(paper), Beryl Singleton Bissell’s memoir <i>The Scent of God</i> has just returned to print in a newly designed and
revised edition.</span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
Bissell was a teenager, when a powerful religious experience
led her into a cloister in pursuit of divine, unconditional love.<br />
<br />
Fifteen years
later, her abbess sends her home to Puerto Rico to care for her ailing
parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While there, she meets and
falls in love with Padre Vittorio, a handsome Italian priest/professor at the
University of Puerto Rico.<br />
<br />
Moving from cloister to tropical island to romantic
Italy, the story traverses a landscape of laughter, rage, and tears as Bissell
learns that human longing is a but a prelude to life’s most perplexing
questions. <o:p></o:p><br />
<a href="https://tinyurl.com/y2f2bhna" target="_blank">Purchase the Scent of God</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In 2006, the Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl a Best of
2006 Minnesota Authors for her first book: <i>The Scent of God: A Memoir</i>
(Counterpoint 2006, 2007), and a "Notable" Book Sense selection for
April 2006. Her second book, <i>A View of the Lake</i>, (Lake Superior Port
Cities Inc. 2011) was named a Best Regional Book for 2011 by the Minneapolis
Star Tribune. Meanwhile Beryl is working on her third book, "<i>The Glass
Calyx: A Mother's Story</i>" which picks up where <i>The Scent of God</i>
leaves off and limns the years leading to her daughter's unresolved violent
death at the age of 24 and its aftermath.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
ISBN<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
978-1-7345539-0-1 (print)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
978-1-7345539-1-8<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Story Oak Publications, St. Paul, Minnesota<o:p></o:p></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Biography& Autobiography, Personal Memoirs</i><o:p></o:p></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-19203837540986078922019-09-07T09:06:00.001-06:002019-10-05T12:55:41.677-06:00From The Heart Fall 2019<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Dear Reader</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For much of this past year my world was saturated with words
too heavy to write or speak. During that year, loved ones have died and my
husband Bill still bears the scars of his encounters with respiratory failure,
diabetic crisis and double pneumonia. Though it was spring, I felt muffled in a
winter world. I moved through each day in a strange inner silence, capable only
of coping with visits to the ICU and weeks of entire days spent in three
different hospitals. Bill returned home in such a frail and weakened condition I
moved in a vaporous world of uncertainty. Would today be my last with him?
Would I be alone tomorrow? Thanks, however, to the effort of a blessed crew of
doctors, nurses, and therapists and courageous efforts of his own, he is
growing stronger. Buoyed by hope and filled with gratitude, I can now reach for
words with which to reconnect with you, to let you know that though I was
silent, you were never far from my mind. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Conscious of the rapid
passage of time and my approaching 80<sup>th</sup> birthday, I wake each
morning with a renewed sense of wonder at the gift of life. Bill is still with
me and gratitude floods the entire day. I feel an added sense of responsibility
to use this time well. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</w:wrap></v:shape>“We must trust in the small light we are given and to value the light
we can shed into the lives of those around us . . . We live in a world alive
with holy moments. We need only take the time to bring these moments into the
light,” writes Kent Wilburn in his lovely little book <i>Small Graces.</i> I
first encountered his writings in 1998 when we moved to Lake Superior’s North
Shore. In an environment live with miracles, his quiet reflective words
mirrored my desire to live a spiritual life and that is how I’ve tried to live
most of my life. To remain open to the light present in every moment. To
welcome each day as the miracle it is.<o:p></o:p></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XlFpTvv5_L6CYg0q4dNA6deCVl-Xrm_APCteWAoh2U_sTRl1GhCOPVHzO7ADreCqxe9gt59ngcTH2LUjVSs-aLz37DsTozi7ElqedGdFZg2ch4ouQvx3DD8QZaGmWY4UPQfbfzOpsGQf/s1600/St.+Francis+and+the+Sun.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8XlFpTvv5_L6CYg0q4dNA6deCVl-Xrm_APCteWAoh2U_sTRl1GhCOPVHzO7ADreCqxe9gt59ngcTH2LUjVSs-aLz37DsTozi7ElqedGdFZg2ch4ouQvx3DD8QZaGmWY4UPQfbfzOpsGQf/s200/St.+Francis+and+the+Sun.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Assisi Heights MN</td></tr>
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Our small book club is thriving. Together we delight in
discovering the creative world within us. It has renewed my love of writing. While
I have still not finished with The Glass Chrysalis, I’ve been working on
bringing <i>The Scent of God</i>, which had gone out of print, back to life.
I’d hoped to announce the publication of the new edition in this newsletter but
life intervened and its rebirth has been delayed. It includes a wonderful new
cover, beautiful interior design, the addition of an Introduction and an updated
afterword. It should be ready early this fall. I shall keep you informed.</div>
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Meanwhile, may you be strong, may you be happy, may you be
healthy. May you live your life with gladness. (Prayer of Loving Kindness)<o:p></o:p></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-12200151117701597012019-08-11T10:35:00.001-06:002020-12-28T16:37:12.694-06:00A new presence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOK19o8txS9Y0wxB2BKKLfWg6M7duBViSOpXXVPTi0Yv8FvRNnruRCVnVu_h-Q1vygNA8ABC8kLOdhUI8bko5_H3W9-Fnvely0OR38rgfNd7W_ej11Sr8zp2UIiZDAsMbDTh1o9yifVfAs/s2048/beryl+smiling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1367" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOK19o8txS9Y0wxB2BKKLfWg6M7duBViSOpXXVPTi0Yv8FvRNnruRCVnVu_h-Q1vygNA8ABC8kLOdhUI8bko5_H3W9-Fnvely0OR38rgfNd7W_ej11Sr8zp2UIiZDAsMbDTh1o9yifVfAs/s320/beryl+smiling.jpg" /></a></div><br />I wanted to create a presence of some sort on this very popular blogspot site. <br />
<br />
I am a columnist for the Cook County News Herald and a frequent contributor to various regional magazines. My memoir, <a href="http://www.berylsingletonbissell.com/">The Scent of God,</a> was published in hardcover by Counterpoint NY in 2006 and in paperback this April of 2007. The book is basically a love story--love for God and love for a man of God -- and how by opening myself to both I became the woman I am today. It tells of the search for God that led me into a cloistered monastery at the age of 18 and the unraveling of that vocation 15 years later in Puerto Rico when I fell in love with a priest. The book takes the reader from a New Jersey cloister to Puerto Rico to Italy as faith and love collide in a story of love, death, guilt and redemption.<br />
<br />
The <st1:city st="on">Minneapolis</st1:city> Star Tribune named me a "Best of 2006 <st1:place st="on"><st1:state st="on">Minnesota</st1:state></st1:place> Authors," and <a href="http://www.berylsingletonbissell.com/" mce_href="http://www.berylsingletonbissell.com/" target="_blank">The Scent of God </a> was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006 and has been nominated by <a href="http://www.perseusbookspromos.com/buy.php?ISBN=1582433488%20" mce_href="http://www.perseusbookspromos.com/buy.php?ISBN=1582433488%20">Booksellers </a>for a <st1:place st="on">Midwest</st1:place> Booksellers Book Award.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.beryl.livedigital.com/">My Journey to Publication and Life Thereafter</a> blog is just that -- how an older woman found an agent who loved her manuscript so much that she sold it to a New York publisher in less than a week.<br />
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I hope you will come visit me at one or the other--or even better, both of the above blogs.<br />
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<br /><i><o:p></o:p></i><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-88966572272861455502019-08-11T10:33:00.001-06:002020-12-28T16:44:02.650-06:00Into the Fire<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7X_L4U1ux41fIJjkJZBGImL39XQATjfWWcDmxZZMHgEMBS1A9j1gxpar9NnHZcFz8hWEQ4uDVIeugj0zgX2XSRMW8aYbyeQMer7OmlgSdZDrH6vq8LO_SyrgHl2EOsHQpA5ae3aBLQpMS/s350/into-the-fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="233" data-original-width="350" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7X_L4U1ux41fIJjkJZBGImL39XQATjfWWcDmxZZMHgEMBS1A9j1gxpar9NnHZcFz8hWEQ4uDVIeugj0zgX2XSRMW8aYbyeQMer7OmlgSdZDrH6vq8LO_SyrgHl2EOsHQpA5ae3aBLQpMS/s320/into-the-fire.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />In 2013, I attended a writing workshop offered by The Sun, a wonderful literary magazine to which I've subscribed for over 20 years. Titled "Into the Fire," the workshop was held at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. Perched on a steep hillside overlooking the rugged Pacific coastline, the location boasted a breathtaking view, healing hot springs, acres of environmentally protected landscape and great food, much of it grown in its own organic gardens. The workshops the Sun offered were taught by authors such as Cheryl Strayed, Michael Shapiro, Ellen Haas (if you haven't read her best-selling <i>Wild</i>, I'd recommend you do so, sooner rather than later<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.pressdemocrat.com/lifestyle/4966364-181/esalen-a-place-to-learn?artslide=0" target="_blank">The Sun workshop</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-73176183911390029492019-01-14T09:21:00.001-06:002019-01-14T09:47:41.747-06:00Beryl's January 2019 Newsletter<div class="MsoNormal">
I began this newsletter on a glorious warm day in January
and felt the need to reconnect with all of you, not because I had something
important to say but simply because I’ve missed you. Today it is 10 <span style="font-family: "symbol";">° </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">F.
</span>Based on the paucity of my newsletters, it is clear that Inspiration
departed and writers block took its place when we moved from our home on Lake
Superior. During the nineteen years we lived within that magical landscape, it
was easy to write. I’m saddened I’ve done such a poor job finding inspiration here.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxbfnwYbUrkhoOwWbrPh-VeVNZD2tBH6smQNZFI8Ym9wXGNJn0DP0gyw2DJr-bkuvtCy_9O-SGvMTTUWGvjPtORtKszSGNm7fIvHcPK1jrxPvZOKl_ot1OIVEUPgxWV_o7Pbsy68wfAd6N/s1600/Snow+Tunnel+Blue+Springs+MO.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxbfnwYbUrkhoOwWbrPh-VeVNZD2tBH6smQNZFI8Ym9wXGNJn0DP0gyw2DJr-bkuvtCy_9O-SGvMTTUWGvjPtORtKszSGNm7fIvHcPK1jrxPvZOKl_ot1OIVEUPgxWV_o7Pbsy68wfAd6N/s320/Snow+Tunnel+Blue+Springs+MO.JPG" width="320" /></a>Our new home is delightful. A residence for active seniors
filled with warm and bright people who have become a family. It is a very busy,
lively place. This busy-ness and immediate access to the many amenities offered
by Metropolitan living, has given me an abundance of excuses not to write. When
I was asked to help form a writers’ group here at RosePointe, I found a way out
of my creative lethargy. I can’t sit by and let everyone write but me. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I have several thick red journals packed with years of
quotations and notes on lectures and retreats that inspire me. While poking
through current gleanings this morning—hoping to be jolted into creativity—I
came across this notation from a retreat given by James Finley (one of Thomas
Merton’s disciples and a well-known spiritual lecturer).<o:p></o:p></div>
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The task of spirituality is to allow
God to love you. To discern God’s will does not mean to take a particular
course of action. Whatever you choose is right even when you’re wrong. God is
not waiting for you somewhere else because you’ve gone in the wrong direction.
God is present to you now wherever you might be. I find this immensely
comforting. Wherever I am, God is with me now. Now I can get up and write this
newsletter. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<u>Writing updates</u>: My writing life is looking up now
that we have a writers’ group. We had a meeting today in which I led a
ten-minute writing exercise based on one of my favorite exercises: filling a
page with words (action verbs, colors, sounds, objects and places), selecting
five spontaneously, and quickly using them into one sentence. What fun. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Meanwhile, the work on the new edition of <span class="MsoHyperlink"><a href="http://www.berylsingletonbissell.com/the_scent_of_god__a_memoir_48878.htm">The
Scent of God</a></span> is nearing completion. It’s got a gorgeous new cover,
intro and afterword. I’m getting back into the swing of the craft and believe
that Its sequel might just complete its long gestation in the near future.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I hope the holidays brought you many blessings and that your
happy days outnumbered the painful days. I pray this new year will be one in
which we might work together to restore compassion to our nation and the world.
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Beryl<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-58507993069082708712018-07-29T21:06:00.001-06:002018-07-29T21:06:36.760-06:00Put Away My Words and Pray<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFYQEZxkb1yCH7wiFt-kVYNavIJ4Jt2xDuqRMrfTltuPMEeoUKXPoh0KUZjIXTMmC9wtW34-hYxKT0YM26i1QZr1BtH4icSKRNmkVzGd3mPv6Ft3rhW49cGYa0ra3ELb4DsuIj36QjKUY/s1600/IMG_0161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJFYQEZxkb1yCH7wiFt-kVYNavIJ4Jt2xDuqRMrfTltuPMEeoUKXPoh0KUZjIXTMmC9wtW34-hYxKT0YM26i1QZr1BtH4icSKRNmkVzGd3mPv6Ft3rhW49cGYa0ra3ELb4DsuIj36QjKUY/s200/IMG_0161.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Garden Walk Mosaic Assisi Heights</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;">I know a lot of fancy words.</span><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;">I tear them from my heart and my tongue.</span><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;">Then I pray. </span><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;">--Mary Oliver “Six Recognitions of the Lord,” Thirst</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;">Dear Reader,</span><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;">Yes, it has been awhile since you’ve heard from me. While I often meant to write, I kept putting it off, hoping for a time when my words would not muddle my efforts to make a meaningful connection. As a writer, I find it almost impossible right now to find the inner peace to write an uplifting newsletter. Not in the midst of what feels like a war zone. Not without sharing concern about the anger, prejudice, and violence seething throughout this nation and the world. </span><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;">The realm of domination, privilege, and power in which we now live is not the realm of love, compassion and mercy in which I believe. What I see happening alarms me. Democracy giving way to autocracy. I am not politically skilled but I can no longer stem the disquiet that erupts within me when I see the indifference of those in power to the suffering of others and when that power is used to mislead the populace, intimidate the weak, suppress rights and censor protest. I believe, however, in the power of compassion to overcome cruelty, justice to counteract injustice, and the ability to effect change at the voting booth. And let’s not forget the potency of prayer to strengthen and sustain us.</span><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;">Meanwhile, as The Glass Calyx continues to languish in my computer, The Scent of God is reviving as a new edition with an introduction, updated afterword and new cover. It will be available in hardcover and softcover and the new edition e-book will be available through Chapters-Indigo Kobo Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook. It will be published late this fall.</span><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;">God be with each of you. May love surround and embrace you. May you flourish and grow even more beautiful than you are now. Thank you for your friendship.</span><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;">Beryl </span><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><span style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;">© Beryl Singleton Bissell 2018</span><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><br style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;" /><i style="background-color: #fffff9; font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", Times, serif; font-size: 14.4px;">You are receiving this because you have connected with Beryl via the internet and been added to her mailing list. To unsubscribe, please reply to this email and enter “unsubscribe” in the subject line. Thank you.<br /><br />The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was named a best regional book by the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2011</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.4px;"><br /></span></span>
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-19175458966623584042018-02-08T11:22:00.001-06:002018-02-08T11:25:21.118-06:00Free for Valentine's Day<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLO0nhXBSkZqx2mjCAP3gZVKC8Jb8bK7M3l_AlnwdZUO5wDUzYpvaNRV6jtUHPu81WUU6nGwHHoCqz-kpTODWsyNq2r5f9JzlXGkWlgOdiWGvACno28GFpon0UQ8FEYJTfi9ebeOJrU1J0/s1600/The+Scent+of+God+E-Book+Cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1067" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLO0nhXBSkZqx2mjCAP3gZVKC8Jb8bK7M3l_AlnwdZUO5wDUzYpvaNRV6jtUHPu81WUU6nGwHHoCqz-kpTODWsyNq2r5f9JzlXGkWlgOdiWGvACno28GFpon0UQ8FEYJTfi9ebeOJrU1J0/s200/The+Scent+of+God+E-Book+Cover.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Just in time for Valentine’s
Day--</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">the e-book version of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/The-Scent-God-A-Memoir-ebook/dp/B00JLG3YNE">The
Scent of God</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">by Beryl Singleton Bissell is </span><span style="font-size: 16px;">Free February 9-13,</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Ann Patchett called this
memoir "A<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">terrifying, passionate, and
exalted<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">examination of what it means to love with</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">your whole heart. Impossible to put down.”</span></div>
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-34304703063321885602017-10-03T14:16:00.000-06:002017-10-03T14:27:43.647-06:00Fall 2017 Newsletter<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8MHuW-Yk9JLfKEJOWWAgwEpUYz8W5vVFKSxr2mVvqSpvdA2_Yudq0WKbHp8ZYE9h_R68LFel8SAD5rBzb3LJPc09y_vwq-yKCmmclS_yOnAIAODPtleD5b1psPKR7kfZxFKcob5BTQdf/s1600/IMG_1166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjo8MHuW-Yk9JLfKEJOWWAgwEpUYz8W5vVFKSxr2mVvqSpvdA2_Yudq0WKbHp8ZYE9h_R68LFel8SAD5rBzb3LJPc09y_vwq-yKCmmclS_yOnAIAODPtleD5b1psPKR7kfZxFKcob5BTQdf/s320/IMG_1166.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Monet's Water Gardens at Giverny France</div>
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">October 2, 2017<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“All day I try to
say nothing but thank you,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">breathe the syllables in and
out with every step I </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">take” – Jeanne Lohmann,
"To Say Nothing But Thank You," <u>Shaking the Tree</u></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Joy flooded me the first time
I read these words. They resonated within my soul. I have tried to live them
even when tragedy strikes and the future appears uncertain and even
frightening. “Thank you” for the beauty that surrounds us, the wonders of
the natural world, the good and compassionate people that surround us, life and
death and everything in between. To say “thank you” is to pray. It is hope and
belief, courage and healing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Life picked up speed soon
after I last wrote and the dust billowed
up clouding my sight. Serious health issues and the sale of both our
homes--one in Florida and the other our dream home on Lake Superior-- exhausted
us as we said goodbye to old friends and raced to sort, sell, or give away the
too much stuff we’d accumulated throughout the years, especially the thousands
of books we’d collected. The state of our nation and conditions throughout the
world overwhelmed me I found it impossible to think creatively or communicate
with others in a meaningful way. Hence my lengthy silence. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">The surgeon told me it could
take up to a year to recuperate from heart surgery and I found this true for
me. Gradually, light returned to my spirit, and I finally feel myself again.
Contrary to my expectations -- how does one leave paradise? -- I discovered I
liked our new home. A well-run and lively apartment complex, a spacious and bright apartment, a welcoming group of
seniors, nearby parks, shops, and all the cultural and social amenities the
Twin Cities offer, not least of which is easy access to nearby medical care.
The latter is one of the primary reasons we moved. During the nineteen years we
lived on Lake Superior’s north shore we aged without worry until the day we
discovered we were old. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Lifting my spirits were three
weeks in Provence and Paris. Sharing one week of that time with my writing
group put wind into my sails and now we are settled in our new place I feel the
urge to return to writing. The first attempt is this newsletter reconnecting
with dear friends like you. I wonder how you are faring. I pray you are safe
and in good health, that you find strength in
times of adversity and rejoice in times of abundance. Thank you for your
support and belief in me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">“Dialogue with the invisible
can go on every minute, and with surprising gaiety I am saying thank you as I
remember who I am, a woman learning to praise something as small as dandelion
petals floating on the steaming surface of this bowl of vegetable soup, my
happy savoring tongue.” Thus ends Lohmann’s poem. I find it delightful. I hope
you do, too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Beryl is the author of <i>The Scent of God</i> and <i>A View of the Lak</i>e. <a href="http://www.berylsingletonbissell.com/" target="_blank">Beryl's Website</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; font-size: 12.0pt;">To
unsubscribe reply to this email and use “ unsubscribe” as the subject. Thank </span><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-44099680446294954942016-07-11T13:23:00.000-06:002016-07-11T13:25:04.739-06:00Don't miss this book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhewllngRijojML8iPnhzAaM-jDD4tU3FH-5hRuJbAmKDF8rybYGrd2Nsc5N4zZ_DTR5hyphenhyphenLu2Geyjw9cECVyyDGlzOiBNT3v_JZYDFErJSKu7FAIKki9LvbFZHAQfZUgaANYwnaow-UBzaX/s1600/The+Nightengale.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhewllngRijojML8iPnhzAaM-jDD4tU3FH-5hRuJbAmKDF8rybYGrd2Nsc5N4zZ_DTR5hyphenhyphenLu2Geyjw9cECVyyDGlzOiBNT3v_JZYDFErJSKu7FAIKki9LvbFZHAQfZUgaANYwnaow-UBzaX/s320/The+Nightengale.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
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Kristin Hannah has given us one of the most powerful stories
of heroism and love that I have ever read. The Nightingale captures the often
untold stories of the French Resistance movement. The ordinary people who moved
beyond terror to protect and save from the Nazi's a nation's honor and the
qualities that make humans capable of true greatness.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-1349395089167886432016-03-12T12:36:00.002-06:002016-03-12T12:36:52.418-06:00The Artistry of the Japanese Tattoo in exhibition <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrC37bnAHkIzvRNccS_4C83jb-8enXSLONwHetbeefJvGg1pl7vcOpwa3xCf-K6dS04CnT2yS2yQWWe49WsILuF6M9Cq_IQMA3SGBqyCVVelec3zu4F6KVCXfR_SSCvVF2jZq5iXRpYygK/s1600/Perseverance-18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrC37bnAHkIzvRNccS_4C83jb-8enXSLONwHetbeefJvGg1pl7vcOpwa3xCf-K6dS04CnT2yS2yQWWe49WsILuF6M9Cq_IQMA3SGBqyCVVelec3zu4F6KVCXfR_SSCvVF2jZq5iXRpYygK/s200/Perseverance-18.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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In 1993, my sixteen-year-old daughter Francesca acquired a
tattoo without telling me. I thought she was simply spending the weekend with a girlfriend when it was actually a mutiny of sorts. </div>
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“Fran, what have you
done?” I gasped. </div>
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“I knew you’d never give me permission and Kelly was
getting one. So . . .” her voice trailed off but she didn’t drop her eyes. </div>
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“What
is it anyway?” She told me it was a rose but it looked more like a dragon to me,
smoking its way toward her knee. </div>
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“You realize
you’ve marked yourself for life?” Francesca nodded, a smile lurking at the edge
of her mouth. </div>
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Not long after, Francesca’s older brother Thomas had both his arms tattooed.
At the time it scandalized my relatives, friends, and acquaintances. Twenty
years later not a day passes without my noting young people and even elders flaunting tattoos that extended up arms and legs to the neck and ears. <o:p></o:p></div>
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On February 25, 2016 I gained a greater appreciation of tattoos when an exhibition at the <a href="http://morikami.org/">Morikami Museum and Gardens</a> in Delray Beach Florida featured a “sold out” Exhibition Preview. of <a href="perseverance:%20Japanese%20tattoo%20tradition%20in%20a%20Modern%20World">Perseverance: Japanese Tattoo Tradition in a Modern World</a>.
Who would attend,
I wondered? When a Sold Out sign
appeared in the museum lobby I realized lots of people wanted to attend! The night of the lecture/demonstration, the
audience was filled to overflowing with people of all ages. Even a baby was there
in attendance (an early introduction perhaps?)</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7UHmxVSe0Y2WCWJRTtdRCMf1iVcaX5oCniy5vQg_ipAJjtoHfOll8Z7NO10L8Q0I5IyQNFUYDcVwmeYP87XDXLd7EjsZR-D41GZ6E46hHFp85fPO9a7iECHpOh0MUKSNxoacCrfQapD4/s1600/Perseverance-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb7UHmxVSe0Y2WCWJRTtdRCMf1iVcaX5oCniy5vQg_ipAJjtoHfOll8Z7NO10L8Q0I5IyQNFUYDcVwmeYP87XDXLd7EjsZR-D41GZ6E46hHFp85fPO9a7iECHpOh0MUKSNxoacCrfQapD4/s200/Perseverance-15.jpg" width="200" /></a>On a blistering hot day a week later, Bill and I viewed<i> </i>the amazing artistry of traditional Japanese tattoos known as <i>Irezum</i>i on exhibit at the museum. Gorgeous life-sized photos of men and women adorned with full body tattoos – front, back, legs, arms – lined the walls.<b> </b>Having watched Horitomo (Kazuaki Kitamura) demonstrate the piercing technique on a slender young man at the exhibition preview, I knew the process was painful and appreciated the exhibition title – <b>Perseverance!</b> </div>
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While there we encountered a beautifully tattooed couple. The woman, a nurse, told me she always wore long sleeves out of respect for the sensibilities of her patients.This reminded me of the time my son, wearing short sleeves, volunteered to paint a church and was asked to leave. His tattoos were an affront to the other volunteers.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">photos from Museum Website</span></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-74415666872864328572016-02-26T10:24:00.000-06:002016-02-26T10:24:20.837-06:00Street Painting in Lake Worth Florida<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGHfEr-X53LKkKMX9GH_iyZoiBUfwEMklPwbpMNbgY81VaPyQ-lZvBLgNaoS79OSZo7E3WNa7sbLuhrVYPJx3WfHRuGsEKYhNKXWVuLzGa5MHThzkqMmf8c_c5VCXg2hT1vgyi20TTFXU/s1600/IMG_0633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvGHfEr-X53LKkKMX9GH_iyZoiBUfwEMklPwbpMNbgY81VaPyQ-lZvBLgNaoS79OSZo7E3WNa7sbLuhrVYPJx3WfHRuGsEKYhNKXWVuLzGa5MHThzkqMmf8c_c5VCXg2hT1vgyi20TTFXU/s200/IMG_0633.JPG" width="200" /></a>This past Saturday, my husband and I attended the Street Painting Festival in Lake Worth Florida for the first time. It was crowded and noisy and brilliant. Though many of the artists were still in the process of finishing their works of art, it was fascinating to watch the process. They worked from detailed images, often checking the sidewalk art with the image they already developed. They sat, the squatted, they lay on their stomachs, careful always to avoid the already finished portions of their work. There were too many to photo all of them but here are some of my favorites. By the way, this was not a competition but a celebration. No prizes just delight.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZmnVLFUHMnyWtjip6Yt69o8u1xeciOeRmhcVPuCoQ5UyijpDv7E1Zh3uAn9NbBDvSnjJy3Ot2wjrgEKhiG1hH5kREgtyOKKiippyhU2_3MekhWY0a6Zy3gEsQk4Fw9ysSXdWEZGpeETO/s1600/IMG_0610.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWZmnVLFUHMnyWtjip6Yt69o8u1xeciOeRmhcVPuCoQ5UyijpDv7E1Zh3uAn9NbBDvSnjJy3Ot2wjrgEKhiG1hH5kREgtyOKKiippyhU2_3MekhWY0a6Zy3gEsQk4Fw9ysSXdWEZGpeETO/s320/IMG_0610.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-90162671183268457112016-02-16T08:54:00.000-06:002016-02-16T08:57:07.441-06:00Snowshoeing on the Superior Hiking Trail<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtbrrwBc_DzxfDorCNhLCphSbnlI-lRAgbZjmSq_1AfIuWek2RR0vZ7Y-M2x1EAoSCD-Cj72MfcTON5UcfxT4G7TVkQiEhN-cgx7nePObxpqxv4Xwcwzbez7evDPZlwWgoFfzJAzGE2tBx/s1600/Ice+animals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtbrrwBc_DzxfDorCNhLCphSbnlI-lRAgbZjmSq_1AfIuWek2RR0vZ7Y-M2x1EAoSCD-Cj72MfcTON5UcfxT4G7TVkQiEhN-cgx7nePObxpqxv4Xwcwzbez7evDPZlwWgoFfzJAzGE2tBx/s320/Ice+animals.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I miss winter. I miss the hush of winter
mornings, the soft lavender shadows the sun casts on a landscape
of wind-driven snow. I miss the chickadees that cluster on our deck,
awaiting their turn at the feeder. Such polite little fellows they are, hopping
on the feeder to fetch a black-oil sunflower seed and immediately flitting away
to crack and eat it. </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"> Photo by Kathleen Anderson-Gray</span></div>
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I especially miss snowshoeing on <a href="http://www.shta.org/Photos/index.php?Gallery=winter" target="_blank">Minnesota’s Superior Hiking Trail</a>, a 310 footpath that runs from south of Duluth to the Canadian
Border. Easily accessed in any season from our house, the trail in winter was
always an adventure, especially when fresh snow offers a glimpse into another
world. Then the journey through the deep woods becomes a constant discovery …
the tracks of snowshoe rabbits, red squirrels, pine martin, and sometimes moose
and wolf the only sign of passage besides the tracks our shoes make. </div>
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Kathleen
Anderson-Gray is a North Shore friend who sends a daily photo she’s just taken. I can
almost feel the crackling cold of those winter mornings even though I’m here in
Florida for the winter. Kathleen recently sent me a photo that reminded me of
one winter hike I took when snow and ice clung to branches like crystallized
circus animals on parade, a giraffe, a sitting lion, even an elephant. Topped
by a soft covering of snow, they resembled lace cookies baked in the woods. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-46045295590613187582016-02-12T10:54:00.000-06:002016-02-12T11:00:38.678-06:00Free on Kindle, A Perfect Love Story for Valentines Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3t1qV2p3w8PDzMHR5nwr82nja3Bx8iCSPLDxTCEvfd1BfshXnxNBdrt8ZPgYgd6l5gtFOv5Bf3pimxmUBPdXYBLtkPNa9V19wJvy_tAgRVpJ7Ky2jXt3QK6gYqlzAVkqkLfDISdwGiIkx/s1600/The+Scent+of+God+Cover+Photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3t1qV2p3w8PDzMHR5nwr82nja3Bx8iCSPLDxTCEvfd1BfshXnxNBdrt8ZPgYgd6l5gtFOv5Bf3pimxmUBPdXYBLtkPNa9V19wJvy_tAgRVpJ7Ky2jXt3QK6gYqlzAVkqkLfDISdwGiIkx/s200/The+Scent+of+God+Cover+Photo.JPG" width="131" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.456px;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/h437z8s" target="_blank">The Scent of God</a> by Beryl Singleton Bissell, free download February 13 and 14.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 15.456px;">Click the link.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-42794533702167947132016-02-09T15:50:00.003-06:002016-02-09T15:53:56.601-06:00A Review of The Yoga of Max's Discontent by Karan Bajaj<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJVUxF4Ue5cpLVqJxfZu1k7RpxuM-v-gjctyIyMVqfdz71bRIS9otxw95WyLIBtyDvUaHOJn3BTNDwmyog3eIKkspuPdjTVVOyXzdKOCLMOjoUsGUGosvk-0_cUcpOPCKHX_Zgrtbdbj7/s1600/The+Yoga+of+Max%2527s+Discontent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDJVUxF4Ue5cpLVqJxfZu1k7RpxuM-v-gjctyIyMVqfdz71bRIS9otxw95WyLIBtyDvUaHOJn3BTNDwmyog3eIKkspuPdjTVVOyXzdKOCLMOjoUsGUGosvk-0_cUcpOPCKHX_Zgrtbdbj7/s200/The+Yoga+of+Max%2527s+Discontent.jpg" width="131" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Based on bestselling novelist and spiritual teacher Karan Bajaj’s own experience, <i>The Tao of Max’s Discontent</i>, takes the reader on a breathtaking and often brutal journey in search of spiritual transformation—the dissolution of one’s sense of self and union with universal (or divine) consciousness.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Bajaj’s giant-sized protagonist Max Pzoras, shaken by his mother’s untimely death from cancer at the age of forty-nine encounters Viveka, a scantily clad East Indian food-cart seller whose experience living among yogis 20,000 feet high in the Himalayas intrigues him. Driven to make sense of his life and to attain what Viveka explains as the “un-born, un-aging, un-ailing, sorrowless, and deathless state” of immortality Max begins to investigate such a journey. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">When he learns of a South American yogi living high up in the Himalayas who teaches a method of yoga that leads to the end of suffering, Max impetuously leaves his job to seek this yogi. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Gripped already by Bajaj’s gift as a story teller, this reader avidly followed Max as he confronted ordeals and disappointments bound to shatter many a spiritual seeker. Despite his focused effort to reach Nirvana, Max remains endearingly human. He might be living as the student of the great yogi guru Ramakrishna, but he is beleaguered by guilt for having abandoned loved ones in order to pursue his own goals. Starvation, intense cold, debilitating heat, exhaustion, fear, regret and anger threaten to overwhelm him as he continues his journey. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Driven by the belief that his purpose in this life is to lose himself within the divine, Max continues his journey, experiencing intense love of and union with all of creation as his sense of self dissolves and union with the divine consciousness consumes him. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #181818; font-family: "merriweather" , "georgia" , serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><i>The Yoga of Max’s Discontent</i> is Bajaj’s brilliant and riveting meditation on the quest for spiritual insight and transformation. I couldn’t put it down.</span><br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-61653854859128904172016-02-01T11:26:00.000-06:002016-02-05T09:26:54.891-06:00A Review: Dog Medicine: How a Dog Saved Me from Myself<div class="MsoNormal">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfeHvj4VQZeJnQQQ8v1d9IqI5wSnpBDfM6xYtC6U8R8Blqk1sEAjsWCYydFaI4AFUc4eMoCM1EgimST1qIyh-ssfrRkVE0nFZKrw5QAHu9pTUEDeV2cCr3QgbAYvSbUDzRHP33XdXUQD_/s1600/dog+medicine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdfeHvj4VQZeJnQQQ8v1d9IqI5wSnpBDfM6xYtC6U8R8Blqk1sEAjsWCYydFaI4AFUc4eMoCM1EgimST1qIyh-ssfrRkVE0nFZKrw5QAHu9pTUEDeV2cCr3QgbAYvSbUDzRHP33XdXUQD_/s200/dog+medicine.jpg" width="129" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;">Chances are most Americans know someone suffering with depression
or have grappled with it themselves. Julie Barton, a bright and talented young
woman on the cusp of a successful career in publishing, woke one morning on her
kitchen floor, the room filled with smoke from the meal she’d been preparing
the night before when she lost consciousness. Terrified, she crawled to the
phone and called her mother, convinced she’d had a nervous breakdown. Thus begins
Barton’s powerful depiction of the catastrophic depression that unraveled her
life until an adopted puppy called Bunker released the love that would
eventually help her heal. Behind Barton’s depression lurked memories of the
violent physical and verbal abuse to which her older brother subjected her and
which her parents failed to address. Convinced she was the stupid ugly loser he
said she was, she thought of herself in those terms and continually berated
herself with those words. Caring for Bunker, however, taught her to forgive and
trust herself. When a medical condition elicits a doctor’s suggestion to put
him down, Julie she asserts her belief in his life, obtaining for him costly surgery
to correct his bone deformities. In nursing Bunker to health, in saving Bunkers
life, in giving him a better life she achieved the strength to save herself. Dog
Medicine celebrates the reciprocal sharing that can occur between man and dog.
It’s an exquisite testimony to the power of that love to heal. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-76838292812397207612016-01-30T15:24:00.000-06:002016-01-30T15:24:00.566-06:00Don't pick it up. It might be a snake.<div class="MsoNormal">
Today, the first completely sunny comparatively warm day, my
husband rode his bike through <a href="http://www.co.palm-beach.fl.us/parks/locations/okeeheelee.htm#.Vq0ejrIrLIU">Okeeheelee
Park</a> in West Palm Beach Florida, while I walked the exercise course several
times. I’d made a recent resolution to be attentive to my surroundings (actually
I’ve made numerous such resolutions, this being the most recent) so as I
traversed the park I focused on the cedar trail itself. Doesn’t sound very
interesting does it? As I normally look everywhere but down while walking, looking
down is a novel experience. An exercise my husband advises me to do each time I
trip on a rock or branch. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Composed of cedar chips, the exercise course offers a huge variety
of cedar chip shapes and sizes as well as the cones and needles that fall from surrounding
pines. If these pose obstacles to walkers, I pick them up and toss them onto
the side of the path. Encountering a beautifully shaped twig of some sort, I
bent to pick it up to examine before tossing (maybe it would be something to
collect) I noticed square markings down its length. As it was less than a foot long, I didn’t
think snake. But snake it was, making me very glad I was exercising
attentiveness. I squatted down to observe it more carefully as it lay without
moving on the cedars, determined to look up Florida snakes on the internet to
determine its identity. <a href="https://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herpetology/fl-snakes/identification/snake-id-q2/">The
Florida Museum of Natural History</a> offers an excellent guide to identifying
snakes. A check the box kind of aid: “Is the snake banded?” “Is the snake
blotched?” “Is the snake cross banded?” “Are its colors uniform?” and so on. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvV8aBLL6SptNVh50ikKSEAZl_92F9BCqaj89RnX5tGIsMbzTDvy2jzzgJAtkKMF-F7oZ9oDNIHLrVAZakvdvWq3eBI2RgkO7d8as9j8v5i_2XbNCasEe-t11LlWL4NDb1z_NVAe0wpTl/s1600/Brown-water-snake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLvV8aBLL6SptNVh50ikKSEAZl_92F9BCqaj89RnX5tGIsMbzTDvy2jzzgJAtkKMF-F7oZ9oDNIHLrVAZakvdvWq3eBI2RgkO7d8as9j8v5i_2XbNCasEe-t11LlWL4NDb1z_NVAe0wpTl/s200/Brown-water-snake.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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I learned my snake was a common brown water snake that fully
grown averages between 25-60 inches. The snake I saw was less than a foot long,
the size of a newborn which runs from 7-11 inches long with hatching season from
June to October, but this is February. Then I read that though harmless, it is
often killed because it resembles a Copperhead . . .?????<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-89398328776879753432016-01-22T09:22:00.000-06:002016-01-22T09:22:04.105-06:00It's raining yet they're out there<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkTemhP2CfD7x54uhQVBZmgj5xIPtwSfvuSnTBSWnQs13y-Ldr4sgDGq5ypyYBjgxQR3TwxI6YydT525JmCRu4LrsxfQOSl6eV7fvLGWZhXkhuC_E9wJhtVstXAqQUV7OFs3nyEljZBgD/s1600/cloud-494739_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYkTemhP2CfD7x54uhQVBZmgj5xIPtwSfvuSnTBSWnQs13y-Ldr4sgDGq5ypyYBjgxQR3TwxI6YydT525JmCRu4LrsxfQOSl6eV7fvLGWZhXkhuC_E9wJhtVstXAqQUV7OFs3nyEljZBgD/s320/cloud-494739_640.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Today, as huge snow storms hurtle toward the north eastern states, southern Florida is touched by the merest edge. It is even warm, 72 degrees, but we are told to expect high winds and rain, lots of it. I look out our kitchen window and see rain pelting off the tennis courts, but on the golf course greens elderly men swing their clubs and a condominium employee mows the lawn. Perhaps they've given up on the sun. Decided to make the best of what is. Meanwhile, my husband has pulled shut the hurricane shutters and darkened the apartment. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPNJQkltwrnLyZ3UyKMRoPNP2Xv7KrODvV5yz1u2sQ5HwAS8nYSJWx_3a62gqinegbTiL_4XHYTcBq9pOC29Vnym2VhzzPTQBLl_NraX6STCLyZlgHtg2g8LHcPuqxJVeh_qgedsp-RoBS/s1600/cloud-494739_640.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7918178686466915007.post-33953697002799360302016-01-21T09:41:00.002-06:002016-01-21T09:41:41.587-06:00Beryl's Winter 2016 Newsletter<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-GRQtVWK3N2wv44PZOlymLvLw4JFan4AX6TPwAdnaw4-WhT_4x-JK4F8yWafGi5VScgtWS8m-4xMNz-cID_uwJhgg26oQEap3voeAQWP1mMVxLugq9I-_tPmQUDOVDeGxSWRtMAu2KuN/s1600/Fran+in+sunlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY-GRQtVWK3N2wv44PZOlymLvLw4JFan4AX6TPwAdnaw4-WhT_4x-JK4F8yWafGi5VScgtWS8m-4xMNz-cID_uwJhgg26oQEap3voeAQWP1mMVxLugq9I-_tPmQUDOVDeGxSWRtMAu2KuN/s320/Fran+in+sunlight.jpg" width="217" /></a></div>
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I write this newsletter from Florida, where we’ve been
enjoying a warmer and wetter winter than ever. I do think of you however,
especially as my new smart phone keeps me updated on weather up north and
across the nation and the news is not always good. Mother Nature seems to be in
a punishing mode, her behavior more awesome, tumultuous and damaging than ever.
I hope you’ve stayed safe, that you’ve weathered whatever drought, hurricane or
blizzard has brought your way. Even more turbulent than Mother Nature’s actions
is the angry divided condition our nation reflects.</div>
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Today, while perusing the work
of Anthony de Mello, one of my favorite spiritual guides, one story struck me
as applicable to our situation today. A
spiritual master once told a visiting bishop that religious people have a
natural bent for cruelty. His disciples were embarrassed and asked why he’d
made such a harsh analysis. Because
religious people all too easily sacrifice persons for the advancement of a
purpose, the master replied. Isn’t this what we see happening in our nation as
the lives of millions of innocent refugees are sacrificed to national
security? In his speech before Congress,
Pope Francis offered a solution to the refugee <span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">crisis:</span> follow
the Golden Rule. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” words that
earned him a standing ovation from Congress. Was anyone listening? </div>
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<u>Update on The Glass
Chrysalis<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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“What happened to your newsletter?” is a question I hear almost as
often as “When is your book coming out?” My apologies! This newsletter should
answer the first question. The second is well on its way to being answered. You
haven’t seen or heard much from me lately because I’ve focused on one thing
only: the book. Having finished preparations for submission, a completed edited
manuscript, a marketing analysis and comparative title analysis, The Glass
Chrysalis will make its way into the world this coming week. I shall let you
know when it’s found a home. Keep me in your prayers. I’ve done my best to
weave a good book with the help of Jill Swenson, book developer. The rest is up
to God.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Peace and all good to your inmost souls.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Beryl<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">©
Beryl Singleton Bissell 2016</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-bidi-font-style: italic;"><br /></span>
<br />
<i><span style="color: maroon; font-family: "Garamond","serif";">The <st1:city w:st="on">Minneapolis</st1:city> Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of
2006 <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:state w:st="on">Minnesota</st1:state></st1:place>
Authors." Her book </span></i><a href="http://www.berylsingletonbissell.com/" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: maroon; font-family: "Garamond","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS Gothic"; mso-fareast-theme-font: major-fareast;">The Scent of God </span></i></a><i><span style="color: maroon; font-family: "Garamond","serif";"> was a “Notable” Book
Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, <u>A View of the Lake</u> was
released in May 2011 and named a best regional book by the Minneapolis Star
Tribune</span></i><div class="blogger-post-footer">The Minneapolis Star Tribune named Beryl as a "Best of 2006 Minnesota Authors." Her book The Scent of God (Counterpoint 2006 hard cover, 2007 paperback) was a “Notable” Book Sense selection for April 2006. Her second book, A View of the Lake was published April 2011 by Lake Superior Port Cities Inc and was named one of the best regional books of 2011 by the Minneapolis Star Tribune</div>Beryl Singleton Bissellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11989231835137438633noreply@blogger.com0