Another story of women in World War One

Investigating another group of unknown women who served in WWI. Working at an Archive yesterday, I was going through a file of 75 to 100 carefully written responses - in beautiful cursive, using pen and ink on personal stationery - from women who had been contacted to volunteer. All answered, "I am ready to serve." Holding these notes, written 100 years ago, I imagined their voices, repeating as a chorus - "I am ready to serve." I feel so fortunate to to touch this history - to hold it in my hands - and yes, there is a story here.

Ask the Question

When Marybeth Evans, Director of the Starburst Storytelling Festival in Anderson,SC, invited me to tell The Hello Girls and to present my Flesh on Old Bones Workshop as a start-up for a community story search they are initiating, I was excited and delighted. In my experience when you ask a group to share their family stories you are in for a treat and surprises. Now I am home and winding up the paperwork that always follows a road-trip. I am thinking about last week and mulling over what happened - all good. But - I realized there was something missing. I did not have time to share this story. Because the message is so important I am sending it now. The young Pouli in this story is the KEY actor because he asks a question - something we all have to do if we are hope to find the stories in our families. The Cowtail Switc

Flying Home

As the sun was fading in the sky over the Greenville Spartanburg Airport last evening I was waiting to board this plane to fly home to Dulles Airport.

This is not my favorite air plane. I had not read the fine print on my reservation in time to make changes. So  - - having ridden one of these  - the 3 - 800 Haviland DASH - from Tri-Cities TN in September I knew how it could roar and toss and turn - no way does it ever DASH.  It pokes along. I was nervous - oh, truth - I was scared. So - preparing for the worst -  I took one half of a small pill to help with that.

And the Lord provided.

Turned out my seat mate was a clean-cut, red head with a crew cut - a grad student at Clemson University - who took one look at the propellors outside our window, which he was sitting next to - turned to me and said, - "I don't like this". I agreed, " I don't either." And that opened our two hour conversation. We began to talk and we talked and talked and talked. And best of all we laughed. We laughed all the way to Dulles Airport outside Washington, D.C.

I learned about why he came to Clemson from up North, and how he liked living in the South and more and more and more. And he was curious about storytelling and a grand-mother traveling from home to tell stories. We told stories to each other and at one point when the plane jumped - we found out that we had both laughed out loud at the Louis C.K. comedy routine about flying - "what's the matter with you people, you are sitting in a chair in the sky?"

The time sped by - slower than ususal on a plane, that's true - and louder - but, hey. it had turned into fun.

Before we landed, he took out his phone. "we have to take a selfie." And he did.
He caught the moment.

He has my email and I hope to see it after his partying is done this week-end.

The nightmare I expected had flipped into - not a DASH - but a good ride home.

Hello Olive Shaw !

A few bits to wind up the trip to Kansas City last week where I presented The Hello Girls at the National World War One Museum and Memorial.

My son Jim and I arrived at the National World War I Museum and Memorial Saturday morning at 10 sharp to meet Curator Doran Cart who showed me their new acquisiton which is beautifully installed "in the spotlight".

 
The new acquisition is Olive Shaw's Signal Corps uniform from the days when she was one of The Hello Girls who served in France. When I called Chief Curator Doran Cart to ask if I could see anything they had on the Hello Girls he told me they had just been given a uniform. " I have been looking for and hoping for a donation like this for 20 years." "Whose is it?" I asked. I could hardly believe hearing, "It belonged to Olive Shaw." Tears rolled down my cheeks. " I know her" I told him. She is one of the 3 characters in my performance. After two years of working with her words I was very moved to come this close to the real "her."

He called back later and said that he would be able to have it on display for the show. What a thrill!!!

For me it was another experience with the power of objects to bring history to life and a personal example of the importance of the role museums play in keeping history real and vibrant.

The museum is amazing - the exhibits take you into the experience of the world war not just by looking at maps, weapons and pictures - the curators bring the people as well as the soldiers to life. They are marvelous storytellers.


I was grateful to be presenting The Hello Girls where World War One is remembered and to give voices to the three monologues created from their words for them to tell their story. The audience gave them a standing ovation - a "thank you for your service." 

While there I gathered more material to either add to the show as it is or enlarge to another show featuring more of these women who went "Over There" during WWI - - -
women who served near the battlefields where the sounds of battle roared in their ears and the earth shook beneath their feet as the big guns fired. 

These are the women General John Pershing called the "switchboard soldiers."

Getting it Together

When I walked into the house Monday afternoon after 4 days away in Kansas City the cat checked me over before coming close. How do I tell her that I am lashed to the computer all day and tomorrow preparing to take off again on Sunday - this time The Hello Girls and I are going to Anderson, SC.  Looking forward to being there where I can pop in and order sweet tea and grits anytime I want them and they will be there waiting for me.

Also happy to be presenting The Flesh on Old Bones workshop which shows people how to use genealogy techniques to find and enrich their stories.  I love it. Spent all day tracking down a woman who went to France during WWI, who is from Anderson, SC and who I think may be a character in a story I am working on. Went onto Ancestry. com and got lost - - but came back with a wealth of material that just maybe the steak of a new story. This kind of research and finding stories is what opened the way to storytelling for me some twenty plus years ago - - - I still love playing at being Nancy Drew, especially when the puzzle pieces are fitting together.

Now on to the laundry or I won't even be going to the grocery store.

The Hello Girls at National World War One Museum October 11

October 11 - The Hello Girls at the National World War One Museum in Kamsas City, MO.

Free to the public - but RSVP required.
HERE

If you want to know more about the program
go to my website

Re-connecting

My lovely plans for last week began to fall apart three days before the week started when I backed into a car in a parking lot. The good news is that no-one was hurt - - but my car was damaged and went into the shop for 10 days.

My sister arrived three days later on the same day Pope Francis was landing at Andrews Joint Base to begin his historic trip to the United States. We expected the city to be flooded with pilgrims and traffic blocked. As it turned out it did not effect us at all. On Tuesday morning daughter Karen and I drove over to pick Kathy up at Reagan Airport in DC.  Karen, like most people who worked in offices downtown, had been asked to work at home during the Pope's visit. Now - that turned out to be a marvelous blessing for us. 

Two days after my fender-bender with the car my back became quite a problem. I could not walk without severe pain.  You see how this is working out. The connectedness of events in our lives pops out when you begin to really look at it. 

That afternoon Kathy and I went to check on the status of my car while Karen took Leia, our little Shih Tzu, to the Vet. There is a back story. 

Several Vets had been working on an infection in her right eye. It was not healing, in fact it was worse. She was scheduled to see an eye specialist. Later that afternoon, as I drove home, Karen called. "You have to make a decision, Mom." We raced to join her and meet with the eye doctor. Damage from the infection out-of-hand. They removed Leia's eye next day. 

Kathy and I had planned a sweet week of talk, fun and several short road trips. Not happening.  

My back was no better - walking painful and difficult. Now Leia in for surgery and care for recovery. Yikes. 

But - perhaps because our plans changed - was a blessing. 

We were not racing from pillar to post so we had time to journey along with Pope Francis thanks to CNN. We saw it all. 

Along with following the commentators along the way.  

It was good. 

Pope Francis has arrived home to Rome safely leaving much for millions to remember and think about.

Now we start a new calendar page - 

 

My back is improved and continuing to improve. Leia is healing.

Kathy and I have had lots of wonderful sister time together that also included Karen. Kathy goes home tomorrow and I will miss her - lots.

Lists, lists, lists -to prepare for the storytelling schedule ahead in October.

But I know there are changes in me - - - something has touched and warmed my heart and opened my soul to heal. 

There is room for JOY.

Pushing Boundaries Returns - for one performance

Bringing Pushing Boundaries to Tales in the Village September 16. Hope you will check out this link for details.

For Details : Check this Link

A Drive A-long Story - 1

The other night as I was driving over to Alexandria to tell Love Notes I snapped photos with my phone whenever I was stopped at a light or stalled in the 5 PM "going home" traffic. Later when I put up the first two pictures which were taken on Connecticutt Avenue - they worked as story-prompts - which I made into Facebook posts. Decided I wanted to save it - who knows I may go somewhere with this story - in fact I know I will as I have been thinking about it for several years.

Note to explain "waving to Jim"-  Jim is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. 

Jim and I spent a 3 day honeymoon in DC - then moved here in 1968.

I will be ISC Teller in Residence for a wk in September. 

PUSHING BOUNDARIES

July, 1978

The ERA MARCH, Washington Mall, Washington, DC

More than 100,000 women wearing white - the connection to the women who fought for the Vote - marched in favor of Congress granting an extension on the time given to pass the Equal Rights Amendment.

When the vote was taken that year  theygranted an additional three years.

I was there that day marching with a group under the flag of the Coalition of Women's Arts Organiztions.

It was an exciting, energizing, and hopeful gathering on a very hot and humid Summer day in Washington. We were eyewitnesses to history.

Those days were filled with challenges. The memories of the times and the people are vivid for me
and being a part of the 1970s Women's Movement changed my life.

Pushing Boundaries is my personal story of those days - -

I will be telling PUSHING BOUNDARIES:

2 PM  Thursday  September 10 at the International Storytelling Center, Jonesborough, TN

7:30 PM  Wednesday, September 16, Friendship Heights Village Com. Ctr., Chevy Chase, MD

 
I hope women will come to hear this story and to remember their own.

WInding Down July and Looking Ahead

So -- July is winding down.
Its been a very full month for me.

There has been the 2015 Capital Fringe and five performances of The Hello Girls,
my 79th birthday - which has not fully settled in yet, and the blasted heat that falls on Washington every July and August.

There have also been a few decisions to agonize over - like should I drive to Jonesborough or take a plane. I finally decided to drive. I will be there for a week and to settle in, work and be happy I want to have my laptop, ofcourse, and my printer too. For me, its always a good idea to set up a small office in the hotel room - keeps me feeling comfortably at home where-ever I am. Do you do that?
And - - just saying - - driving keeps me from changing planes in Atlanta on Labor Day week-end.

Trips are better for me if I take my toys with me. First the office supplies that I need to keep my business underway. Fortunately with laptops and iPads, files stored in Drop-box, and books on my Kindle, I don't have nearly as much to pack as I used to that's true, and it leaves space to put in my familiar quilt - - jus saying.

Astrology says that a "Cancer" is a home-body and I run true to that description but I also like to go places, meet people and see the world. So - toys help me go, go, go.

There is a lot of travel in store for me until December. September I have the week in Jonesborough telling five shows at the International Storytelling Center and then another drive across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge to tell the Arlington Story in Bridgeville, DE which will be followed by a couple of days on a sister-trip to Staunton, VA with my sister, Kathy. We are staying at an intertesting B and B so that we can tour, the town see a Shakespeare play and re-visit the Woodrow Wilson home.

The Hello Girls story keeps my head focused a lot of the time on the WWI period. When Jim and I visited the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library we did not see the exhibit of WWI trenches ---
have you seen them? This is the discription on the website - "Immerse yourself in the new, state-of–the-art World War I trench exhibit complete with lights and sound to experience what life was like for soldiers as they engaged in battle. See authentic weapons and uniforms as you discover the unforgettable story of the doughboys." Don't want to miss that.

In October I will be telling The Hello Girls at the National World War One Museum and Memorial -
makes sense to me to see the trenches in Staunton - and then see more and more about "the Great War" when I get to the museum.

Late October I will be in Anderson, SC telling The Hello Girls at the Starburst Storytelling Festival along with four Flesh on Old Bones Workshops - all good to me.

November 13 The Hello Girls and I will be in Hagerstown, MD for the Maryland State BPW Meeting.

Then I go to California to visit with my daughter Robin and I suspect we will use some of that time to do more of the sleuthing about a group of the first Hello Girls that  we started last August.

I love this kind of research - its the Putting Flesh back on Old Bones and making stories as we go along. What's not to love?????

A Gardinia and a Bit of WWI History.

Two surprises today.

The first is this  - -

The bud which had a tightly closed fist, ot showing any petals, for a few weeks, has bloomed.  Lovely soft white petals and a pungent sweet fragrance that brings back many memories.
But more - this feels like a hug from Jim - a gift for the mid-run performance tonight of The Hello Girls. A hug I have needed.

And the second -

received this selfie from my son Jim this morning. In Paris for a few days on business he took took the time to find the Hotel Petrograd on Rue des Naples - the YWCA hotel where the Hello Girls stayed on their first nights in France.

Tired they fell deeply asleep and were rudely awakened several hours later by the screaming air raid sirens. They spent the rest of the night in the air raid shelter in the basement. Next morning they saw a pile of rubble across the street which had been a building when they walked into their hotel.

The bombed building across the street was rebuilt in 1926.

Today when I tell The Hello Girls at the Capital Fringe I know have a real-time image of that time and place during WWI.

Thank you, Jimmy.

I am so grateful for these and all the other blessing in my life.

Keeping Busy

Is it really almost a month since I have written on this blog? Well, yes!

My apologies to anyone who has stopped by and found no one at home.

There was a time, only a year ago, when I was unsettled if I missed a day.
Its not that I don't have anything to say - its that I don't have anything to share. Does that happen sometimes in your own life? I am so focused on the Capital Fringe where I am performing The Hello Girls that think about anything but that .... and Jim.

Jim is rarely off my mind. I miss him and wish he was here!

I know he would love the Hello Girls story. I often want to turn and talk to him about it - - which then shakes me back to the real world. Jim is not here and what's more - he has never heard this story. Drat! Drat! Drat!

When grief washes me with tears and sets memories flowing it can be a good thing - and sometimes not  - - because it becomes a knife that cuts right through me.

I wish I were a writer like Anne Lamott who takes off on a topic, weaves in bits, and finishes up with insights that inspire and stay with her readers.

All right. All right. My life has a hole in it right now - but I also have so much to be grateful for.

My family: I am grateful they take time out of their busy lives to support me and my storytelling. Jim knew that I would need something when he died. The last five years before he died he was my other right hand to support the storytelling so that I would have something sure to build on after he left.

He was right  - - - storytelling. Believe me I know how lucky I am.

People often tease me about or jibe me a bit about being "too busy." Maybe I am. Its been my way as long as I can remember. Today "being busy" is my survival.

I have a show tomorrow evening - the 3rd of five in the run for the Hello Girls in the 2015 Capital Fringe. Today I am rehearsing with a video my son made last week and it is a tremendous help.

When something like the Fringe comes along my family steps up beside me. They are all excellent coaches. My daughter Robin lends her marketing advice, talent with words and social media to get the word out about the show. Daughter Karen works the shows, shares ideas about the story and continues to listen hours and hours. Jimmy listens and has feed-back for performances and run throughs. All that along with the support and advice from my sister Kathy who is close by even though she lives miles away. I call myself a solo-preneur - but I am not alone.

When a friend came to the show last week-end - she called us "Team Schoettler." I know Jim is somewhere loving that.

Ok, here you have it.  This is where I am and what I am doing.

"Keeping Busy!" 

I thank God for these gifts in my life!!!

The Power of Looking Back - VIDEO

For two years my eyes have been on WWI as I developed and began telling The Hello Girls. I am now preparing for another run of that show at the Capital Fringe - - - so as I always for I review all the first research and add anything new I have found. I step back into the story before I tell it.
There is always a "back-story" isn't there?

Hello Girls at the 2015 Capital Fringe

 

Looking forward to performing the Hello Girls at the 2015 Capital Fringe in Washington, DC  in July.

Opening performance July 10.

Five Performances.

Tickets go on sale June 22.

For more information: thehellogirls.net and/or capitalfringe.org

Looking ahead - Lists for Six Month will Help

I have to sneak up on the cat to catch a portrait of her doing what she excels at - sleeping. Often I see her curled up like this on a chair in the den - and I am jealous. Naps in the afternoon are such a luxury.

A nap is a luxury I cannot afford right now or for the next six months. I have entered a busy season for storytelling - and travel. Add in weeding out my house and all thatit takes to keep a house in order. Its all good - or I would not have agreed to do it - but making a six month calendar today brought it all together so I could really see what is ahead.

Plan. Plan. Plan.
Lists. Lists. Lists.

It works if you stay on the plan.

Once upon a time I learned how to do this as part of my professional job. I organized and managed a celebrity trip for the Equal Rights Amendment to two states which included speeches for the featured celeb, dinner and breakfast meetings, city to city and state to state. It was fun, the trip ran smoothly - well - -a few glitches -  and I was absolutely exhausted by the time I escorted the celebrity to her flight for Hollywood. So completely blitzed and tired out I tipped our limousine driver $700 - even though a tip had been built into the price. Nno wonder he waved as he left.  Next day I was on the phone begging him to return the money - "I could lose my job." Fortunately he did agree to return as I babbled fervent thanks. I did not lose my job and continued on honing the planning tricks that I was calling on this morning to plan my calendar.

Today's simple planning reminded me that I had survived more complicated set-ups so I am encouraged.

The travel schedule shows at least one trip or two shorter ones a month - mostly flights. From Baltimore this week to several weeks in California in late Nov. All good. This includes a week in Jonesborough as Storyteller in Residence and a five day visit in SC for a Festival. Details when announced. A storytelling day in Delaware - a sister's trip in NC and a week here with my sister Kathy. And all the usual storytelling commitments I have. All good. All good.

One special date is a four day trip with my son to Kansas City, MO to the WWI Museum.

Since I can't make it to the NSN Conference in Kansas City I decided to head out with my son to spend several days immersed in WWI History. My son Jim, a retired Army Colonel and a lawyer who teaches a course "The Law of War" at Georgetown U. is a history enthusiast especially of the military. We will have a good time diving into the history of "The Great War."  I can't wait. After all, for two years I have been digging into that history as it touched The Hello Girls.

It begins for me this week. I am spending four days in Baltimore on a sentimental journey where I will be gathering stories and visiting with old friends while attending the Biennial Medical Meetings at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.  Widowed spouses are invited and welcomed which is a lovely gesture.

There will be what Jim used to call the "old guys" lunch and an informal dinner with members of Jim's Class. My friend and former nursing school classmate and I are sharing a house in the neighborhood  through the McElderry Street B and B. When we were first married we both lived in apartments in this neighborhood a block from the modern main entrance to the hospital. As expected the neighborhood is significantly changed - old houses torn down for new skyscraper hospital buildings but there is enough left to fuel the memory into high gear. The houses where we each lived are still there and looking trim and their Baltimore front stoops are gleaming. That's nice.

Also looking forward to a coffee with storyteller Jon Spelman who lives in a near-by neighborhood almost in the shadow of Hopkins Hospital.  That's convenient.

Jim and Jimmy - circa 1957

 
This will be my first visit back without Jim when his classmates are there. Last year Kay and I spent a few days but there were no meetings. That was a bit easier. I know there will be a few tears for me but I am also looking forward to  touching base with the sweet and lovely happy memories of our falling in love days, the first year and a half we were married - and ofcourse the birth of our son.

It all started at Hopkins for me and Jim.

That's special.

THE HELLO GIRLS Press Release

F O R   I M M E D I A T E   R E L E A S E   

Contact:  Ellouise Schoettler  301-367-9323

THE HELLO GIRLS:  A Surprising WWI Story

Storyteller Ellouise Schoettler presents a One-Woman show

            as part of the 10th Annual Capital Fringe Festival  July 10-26, 2015

 

In 1918 war-torn France they answered calls from the Front with a familiar “Hello” so the US troops dubbed them – The Hello Girls.

“These gutsy women stepped up to serve their country at war and their story captures your heart,” says storyteller Ellouise Schoettler.

American women telephone operators, answering our country’s call to service in France during WWI, were key in winning Allied victories, only to return home unacknowledged and nearly forgotten … until now. This summer, at Cap Fringe 2014, you can meet them through their stories.

FIVE PERFORMANCES:    Brookland Artspace Lofts Studio
                                                  3305 8th Street NE  Washington, DC 20004

                           Friday,              July 10,  6:15 p.m.

                           Sunday,             July 12,  3:30 p.m.

                           Saturday,          July 18,  5:45 p.m.

                           Tuesday,            July 21,  6;15 p.m.

                           Sunday,             July 26,  12:15 p.m.

                          

        Air-Conditioned Venue    Handicapped Access    Limited Seating

For Tickets & Passes:  capitalfringe.org or by calling 866-811-4111

About The Show:

The Hello Girls is the story of the “plucky” telephone operators who served with the US Army Signal Corps in France during WWI.  Using portable switchboards these American women worked near the battlefields and played a key role in wining Allied victories.  But, their story did not end with the war. Like many veterans today, they faced another battle on the “home front.”

 For more:  TheHelloGirls.net

Ellouise Schoettler is a Cap Fringe 5 Star performer returning for her 6th year. “When I learned about the Hello Girls I knew it was a story I had to tell.  Its not typical Fringe fare but my programs are usually the hidden gem every year. Audiences are consistently surprised by the power of storytelling.”

79-year-old professional storyteller Ellouise Schoettler is known for telling stories with heart and humor as well as for her support of women’s issues.

Based in Chevy Chase, Maryland, she performs nationwide and is featured on 2 MMCTV local cable shows.  She was a speaker for the 2013 TEDx Bethesda Women Special.  In September 2015 she will be an invited week-long Storyteller-In-Residence at the International Storytelling Theater in Jonesborough, TN. For more on her:  ellouiseschoettler.com

Catching up

Catching up with myself.

Two storytellings last week which kept me busy with the preparation. As much as I love and enjoy storytelling I am tired and need a break.  And it is on the way - not a sit down with you feet up and eating bon-bons but no performing and no short-term deadlines until July and the Capital Fringe. Hooray!

Memorial Day - May 25, 2015

The Memorial Day remembrances began for me Friday when I went to Arlington to visit Jim. Going early was a way of avoiding the traffic jams that are stalling everything right now. Because the family went to Arlington on Memorial Day several years ago and experienced the world headed there and stopped on roadways I am sure I am right, especially as it is a beautiful day, warm and sunny.

Some days I write on Facebook because it is faster - that's what I did Friday afternoon - so I am posting this picture to introduce Doctor Duck, a cute souvenir someone gave me when I was at Walter Reed Hospital Thursday to tell stories.

That was an interesting day. Snafu with the performing space so we made a dash to a different building - but no one knew we had moved. The people in the new location were surprised but those that could stayed and enjoyed the stories.

The real snafu came as I went back to my car and it was all my doing. I was parked in a seven level parking building thinking I had parked on level 3. I hadn't .  Searched for 40 minutes to find my car until I realized I kept overlooking floor 1. You got it! There it was in the exact spot I thought it would be - just on a different level. Later when I told my sister about the mess-up she told me a great tip. "Use your phone. Take a picture of where you park it next time." Good advice!!!!!

The Choice is Mine

Jim's bread.

A few years before he died Jim tried some cooking - bread making and soup concoctions. He was good at both. Delicious soups and worthy bread.

I found these pictures the other day. Nice memory. I can almost smell that bread and I certainly remember how we enjoyed the taste of it.

Finding these pictures reminded me of Thorton Wilder's play Our Town - when in the third act the stage manager advises Emily, recently deceased, who wants to come back to life "just for a day", to chose an insignificant day to re-live.

I felt that advice like a hot blade because I have been working on a story about Jim and me and our young life together. In doing that I am reliving even the slightest moment I can remember and sifting for those that will make a story.

I am not saying that its easy to do that work. Its difficult to make choices. And, more, its difficult to wade through things you wish you could re-do. Having said that, I am not sorry to be tackling the memories. But, I have decided to delay the first telling of the story. Its not ready and I am not ready. I have not settled on the why of telling it outside our family.

Originally I planned to tell it in June for Jim's birthday.

Well, that's not happening. Its delayed until August and it might possibly be delayed until February for Valentine's. However I am a stubborn devil and when I want to work out a story I stick to it -  maybe beyond reason.

There will be other stories to tell on the scheduled dates if I keep delaying my "love story." Actually my storytelling dance card is doing okay - - local and out of town - - which feels good. Its my house work that is taking a beating.

The good news is that I can do whatever it is whenever I want to!

Isn't that a nice thing to grasp?

The choice is mine.

Circling

Jim Schoettler

Working on my new story, Love Notes, keeps me focused on days in Baltimore when Jim and I met.
Not complaining. I love it.
Especially as it seems to be creating some serendipity connections between then and now.

When I boarded the train in Charlotte to head to Baltimore to enter Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing I was carrying a book that a nurse gave me "to read on your trip." I did read "Miss Susie Slagles" by Augusta Tucker as the train clipped off the miles toward Baltimore. By the time I reached the nurses home to check in my imagination was fired by Tucker's novel and her romanticized version of Hopkins in the early 1900s. I loved it.

I have been re-reading Tucker's novel as part of my "research" for my new story. It prompts many memories.

Yesterday my friend Kay called from Texas, "Do you want to go back to Hopkins in June?" Before I could say, "YES." she added. "lets stay where we did last year?" She read my mind. Those words were on my tongue. Last year we stayed in a renovated row-house on the street where Jim and I lived when we got married. Talk about walking back into the past - - it was great. "YES"  Now, the plans are underway and I am very excited to return to the old neighborhood.

I have also been reading a history of Hopkins as a teaching hospital.

Last night at family gathering a new acquaintance suggested I read "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" which is the story of a major breakthrough in research on cervical cancer which occurred in 1951. Jim came to JHH in 1952 and I arrived in 1954. I recognized the names of researchers. I was sure Jim would have known them. It would have been so great to talk about it with him.

That led me to call one of Jim's classmates. He is an OB-GYN - its his field. "Yes, I read the book - went to see the author speak. She was terrific. Several of the researchers had been professors at time we were there. You were right to recognize the names." He and is wife may be coming to the scientific meetings the same time Kay and I will be there. Maybe they will try to stay in the same area we are.  Yes, he would like to talk about the days he lived in a boarding house very like the one in Miss Susie Slagles. "I remember it well."

There are others I want to see and talk with and places I want to go. I know I will have to work hard to walk down memory lane because so much has been changed.

But  - - it will be worth the struggle.

I really love it when life moves in circles!