Lessons learned from a lichen

Last week, I created a post and managed to send it to this blog from my documents with a photo, and it was successful. I tried it again tonight, since the experience was fun, but nothing doing. How frustrating! What I must admit is that it's my own fault: there is so much fascinating and useful information out there that if I don't write down the source, that resource disappears into the ether. It's still there, but my very human brain can't access it.  Come thou elusive bit of resource, come to me...

I found the lovely space ship attached to a tree down from my apartment last summer. It is so simple and yet complicated, much like my experience trying to work on the web, but somehow, I think this lichen has got it figured out-find your right place, learn it well and stick with it.

An interview with Artis Connell in Cody, Florida, 2011

Artis is my late Mother’s first cousin.  I saw him at his home in Cody, an old timber town. The place has changed much since his birth in the 1920’s, going from truly isolated and rural, to a suburb of Tallahassee, Florida’s capital.
When I was a child, my grandfather, Albert Connell took us to see Artis and his family a number of times and I grew to love him; I still do. I see him as an incredibly brave man whose strength comes through his faith in God.  The Connell family donated the land for the Cody Pentecostal Holiness church, which Artis continues to attend.  Some years back, before his wife Betty passed away (she made the best chicken & dumplings on the planet to my way of thinking) he was paralyzed after an accident. I was there, at the rehabilitation hospital when he first moved his toe. It was reason for great rejoicing, because no one knew if he’d ever walk again. Now in his 80’s, not only does he walk, he still lives an independent life with his family surrounding him.
During our conversation, he told me stories about a great hurricane and torrential rains--a time when the rivers and creeks overflowed and Cody was covered in water.
Excerpts from this interview with Artis will be published in my book of essays, stories and interviews of the North Florida I know and remember, working title: FLORIDA BEYOND THE SUN
 

A Fresh Look at the New Year

Happy New Year! Yes, I know, I promised to be here faithfully . . . and here I am, bright, eager, and totally excited about what the new year will bring. I had an eventful autumn that was filled with storytelling and speaking opportunities, and I was looking forward to more this winter until I broke my ankle December 6. Pretty much sidelined for a bit, I had to focus on writing, which I didn't mind at all. What I did mind was the pain of the break, and the inconvenience of it. I am one of those last minute shoppers--you know the type--we wait until Christmas Eve and then panic, go crazy at the store and then have a blast. This year I did my shopping online, and it was relatively stress-free. In fact, it was so easy that I may make it part of my Christmas tradition.

While I hobbled around here in the Boot or kept it propped, I finished Swamp Woman, my suspense novel, which is set in North Florida (more about this in another post), completed a mid-grade fantasy piece named Opal Dragon Hold inspired by my grandson Tucker, and wrote several poems. I won third place in the Watauga Pen Women's Poetry contest, and honorable mention in a contest sponsored by the Poetry Society of Tennessee. Let's just say all of this activity helped me keep my sanity while I was home. . .

In addition to writing and storytelling, both of which are ongoing, there are several special events on the horizon I'd like to share with you:

Check out my Saundra Kelley Facebook fan page, which is a growing discussion about my book, Southern Appalachian Storytellers: Interviews with Sixteen Keepers of the Oral Tradition. That book just keeps on going, and it is taking me along for the ride. In March, I will be at The Virginia Festival of the Book with it, and will post my lecture time as soon as I have it. I've lectured at several universities, and hope to do more this year. I am booking lectures, workshops and story-concerts, and will be happy to add your organization to my schedule.

In June, I will perform in Dispatches from the Other Kingdom, with Dr. Joseph Sobol and Kenneth Tedford at the National Storytelling Network Conference in Ohio. The stories in this performance are deeply personal for all three of us: Joseph tells of his father's experience with cancer; Kenny shares his own, and I speak for Kathy Collins. All three were interviewed under the auspices of a communications grant at East Tennessee State University, and I was fortunate to be the one who spoke with Kathy. At the time, I was the graduate assistant with the storytelling program, and ultimately interviewed 28 people with varying experiences with cancer and the medical community. Her story staggered me, and I was honored to be asked to more or less channel her experience. Each time we perform this trio of interviews, lives are changed, and greater avenues of communication opened.