2024: Col. Eileen Collins – NASA Space Shuttle Commander

Posted on May 5, 2024 by peggylchambers

I spent 15 years as the admin for the simulator section at Vance AFB and made some life-long friends there. I still have breakfast with the employees who are now retired but had long and exciting careers. I kept the office running for them. And along the way, they taught US Air Force pilots to fly. Some became famous.

Col. Eileen Collins is a real American Hero as well as a local one. Born in New York, my hometown of Enid, OK also claims her since she graduated from flight training at Vance AFB.

Her Air Force pilot education took place at Vance and she remained as an instructor pilot for three years. She applied and was accepted into test pilot training and eventually to NASA as an astronaut. Along the road she earned advance degrees in mathematics and economics. Somehow she found time to become a wife and mother of two.

As an American astronaut, she flew the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1995 to the Soviet Space Station, Mir, and orbited around it. It was the first time a female pilot flew a Space Shuttle mission.

In 1997 she piloted the Space Shuttle Atlantis and this time docked with Mir.

In 1999 she became the first female commander of the Space Shuttle Columbia.

In 2005 in NASA’s the return to flight after the Columbia disaster, she was commander of the Discovery bringing home the Expedition 6 Crew from the International Space Station.

She paved the way for women in the field and has encouraged others to follow in her footsteps.

She retired from the Air Force in 2005 with the rank of Colonel and from NASA in 2006. Her awards include Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, and many others including The Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy.

Her autobiography, Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission, https://www.amazon.com/Through-Glass-Ceiling-Stars-American/dp/1950994058/ref=sr_1_1?crid=HAWME2KMJPNZ&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.R4RuhWRU1lt99BbmYiU58QyzApDYWP4BcKiYi3wI4uZA822SWcx0xN2pdxYTN_JViyXIy19LtJL2l906uyn75WXqe5Assda87ByBmd2QJqgyDim8QySfyXTI0qIFrDZ8A10eDmWg3MRo8byXmi2n_3-KoVW-O_tqwr-zVFS5Ow3DOxSqs5CXnVB6L3BIyFxiCF1SJCrwJb0E6F3QW6-XaqfOYgnjPSZC-lZLaUtJzUE.p1hBq9Y-L4Rjr3dY3oQqjjxQcIsRMJa7d-LTmXnKQiE&dib_tag=se&keywords=through+the+glass+ceiling+to+the+stars&qid=1714510034&sprefix=through+the+glass+st%2Caps%2C209&sr=8-1 chronicles her accomplishments privately and professionally.

She has been invited to be the keynote speaker at the graduating class at Vance in May. Since she will be in Enid that week, she generously agreed to sign copies of her book at Putnam Six bookstore on May 15, 2024, from 5-7.

I am looking forward to meeting her and getting a copy of her book. But that is Another Story another Time.

What are you reading/writing this week?

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2024: The Saga of the Daylily

Posted on April 28, 2024 by peggylchambers

It’s gardening season, the eternal struggle between garden and gardener. And the older I get the more of a struggle it becomes.

I wonder if God looks down his nose at me when I pull some of his creations out and throw them in the trash. Afterall, a daylily is a flower. I just don’t want it there. For those of you who have dealt with daylilies, you know they are invasive. If I had a large lot, I’d let them take over a spot, but not in the middle of my dwarf pampas grass in my front flower bed.

The saga of my daylilies has been going on for many years. A friend moved and wanted to take some of her daylilies with her. They lined the side of the old house. So, I dug them up, took them to her, and brought a few to my yard. Mistake! Now they are everywhere. The ones along the back fence (which is being replaced as I write this) will probably survive the fencing crew. But the one that came up in the middle of my ornamental grass, had to go.

Enid is in the middle of a drought. I watered a couple of days ago with plans to dig out the ornamental grass/daylily mass. My plan was to dig it all up and sort it out. Throw out the invader and replace the intended plant. The ground was hard as a rock in the Oklahoma wind. Or maybe it was the old gardener on the other end of the shovel. But it was not as easy as I just stated.

In the end, I persevered. I got the clump out of the soil and sorted out the problem plant. I am sure there are still tubers in the soil that will raise their ugly (I mean lovely) heads sometime. My shovel and I will be ready. But that is Another Story another Time.

What are you reading/writing this week?

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2024: Author Events and High School Reunions

Posted on April 21, 2024 by peggylchambers

It was an eventful and busy weekend.

I participated in the annual Enid Author Fest with 40 of Oklahoma’s finest authors. We hobnobbed, read our work to the public, and sold a few books. It is always great to see the people I know and meet a few I didn’t. I managed to come home with a few to read as well.

I am a member of the Enid Writers Club and the Oklahoma Writers’ Federation, Inc.(OWFI). Each year in May OWFI has a conference in Oklahoma City with agents, authors, publishers, publicists and anyone else who is interested in writing. There are writing sessions all weekend and all types of writing are discussed. It takes place over a long weekend and once again I get to visit with authors I know. I have learned so much about writing from these people that I owe them a lot.

It was also a weekend for my high school reunion. My husband and I went to high school together and graduated at the same time so we know a lot of the same people. But it was good to see them again. Enid High had a graduating class of 675 people the year we graduated, and there were about 80 of us at the reunion. But we still got to see each other. I found out one of the women I went to school with just moved in around the corner from me. We will renew that friendship in the near future.

Between the two events, I hugged and laughed a lot. I was so tired when I got home from the Author Fest, I could hardly put my books away but at least they are back where they belong.

OWFI is in a couple of weeks and my dog and pony show will be back on the road again. But that is Another Story another Time.

What are you reading/writing this week?

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2024: Of Flowerbeds and Winding Roads

Posted on April 14, 2024 by peggylchambers

Spring blossoms are beginning to pop up their pretty heads and it is planting time. My tired achy body doesn’t do as much of that as I used to. But it is time for a trip to the greenhouse.

I still have not cleaned out my flower beds. My husband has been sick and they forecast potential tornadoes for tomorrow. So, maybe I should wait. But I need to get my beds ready for the summer growing season.

I long for a spring vacation, I’ve spent too much time in the house over the winter but I’ve almost finished a novel. I have a couple of weekend trips planned but I’d love a long winding road with little to do and much to see.

I have a friend who is trekking the Camino de Santiago El Camino de Santiago Hiking Tour | MT Sobek – Mountain Travel Sobek in Spain and loving it though his dogs are barkin’! I wish I were young enough to do that. My husband and I went to Zimbabwe on a hunting trip when we were middle aged and it was a trip of a lifetime. I keep thinking about a train ride through the national parks. I have another friend who is leaving for a weeklong trip to Ireland this week with her family. Sigh. I guess I’ll write a blog and dream.

But, instead, I think I’ll get busy on those flower beds. Day lilies have overtaken my ornamental grass. I thought the lilies were long gone, but I guess not. They area so invasive! There are leaves in the south bed and grass in the herb garden. Time to get out the hoe and get to work.

My grandmother lived in the Ozarks and raised 8 kids on a farm with fruit trees, a milk cow, chickens, and a giant vegetable garden during the Great Depression. And I’m griping about weeding a little flower bed or two.

But it’s spring and it is to be enjoyed. I need to get busy.

Another Story another Time. What are you reading/writing this week?

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2024: Garfield County Child Advocacy Center

Posted on April 7, 2024 by peggylchambers

It’s spring and the beginning of outdoor activities in the neighborhood and around the country. Tomorrow is the solar eclipse. I plan a private party in my own backyard. Warm weather brings out celebrations that winter is over, and the sun is shining.

But for some, spring is not a time of celebration, it’s just another day. In Garfield County, Oklahoma there were 271 confirmed cases of neglect or abuse of children in 2023. 271! And there were probably many more that weren’t reported.

The Garfield County Child Advocacy Center Care Campus (thecarecampus.com) and their volunteers, Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), do their best to help children who have no voice.

To bring attention to this ever-increasing problem, Garfield County, Oklahoma has a presentation on the courthouse lawn each year in conjunction with the First Friday Events downtown to show these replicas of the children to the public. For $35 you can represent one of the children by renting the wooden cut out and taking it home and dressing it. It is then displayed with the others to bring awareness to this problem and help fund their project. My husband (a former CASA) and I always rent and dress a wooden child and place it on the courthouse lawn. I took it down a little early Friday before all of them were in place and put it out for display. The empty poles will all be filled. My picture doesn’t do justice to the number of children standing on the lawn, but imagine 271 of them. They will be there throughout the month of April then they will be stored away for next year.

But the children they represent will still need help. The Care Campus always needs contribution and volunteers. I’m sure there are similar groups in your community. Be sure to help them out and possibly save a child from abuse and neglect. They all have their stories to tell.

Another Story another Time. What are you reading/writing this week?

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2024: Easter and the Renewal of Spring

Posted on March 31, 2024 by peggylchambers

It’s Easter and the beginning of another spring in this part of the world. A time of renewal. It seems to me that the beginning of the year should be April, not January. It’s the renewal of nature after a long cold winter. But no one asks for my opinion.

My jonquils have bloomed, my grape hyacinths are blooming, and those tulips I worked so hard to dig and plant last year—didn’t come up. Sigh.

I put out the patio cushions on the chairs and realized how dirty they were when I put them away last fall. Now I have another job to do. Putting them away dirty (probably just before it snowed) wasn’t one of my best ideas.

We’ve been invited to brunch with the kids for Easter and we’re looking forward to spending time with them and consuming way too many calories.

I’ve been working on a presentation for my writing club this week on characterizations. And now I find strange characters everywhere. Another brand-new thing to do this spring. I’ve spoken to my club before, but characterizations I find fascinating. I’m looking forward to a brand-new subject.

Spring is an opportunity to start over and begin anew. Every year I get ideas for great new things. Some of them work out. What about you? Heard any new stories lately?

Another Story another Time. What are you reading/writing this week?

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2024: Tornado Alley, Sisters in Crime Workshop

Posted on March 24, 2024 by peggylchambers

Yesterday I attended the Tornado Alley Sisters in Crime Sisters in Crime annual workshop in Norman, OK. Another adventure with like minds. Tornado Alley is the state-wide club affiliated with the worldwide club affiliated with Sisters in Crime. I’ve met a lot of new people and reconnected with some I’ve known for years. We are all there for the knowledge we can gain.

I went to school at OU and drove that two hour drive every Saturday for two years up and down I-35, but it used to be easier. Or there was less traffic, or I’m just getting old. My small town of 50,000 people doesn’t have an interstate highway, though our cross-town highways can get congested. White knuckle driving. But I made it with no mishaps. I will never allow myself to become afraid to drive in busy traffic and miss things I want to do. I don’t plan to ever get that old! It was for a good cause. The camaraderie of Tornado Alley made it all worth it.

We had four speakers and I knew all but one. Lou Berney Lou Berney Official Website was the keynote speaker and I loved his easy-going manner as he talked to other authors with the same love of writing. He talked about writing being a conversation with the reader. Your story should not only be satisfying for the genre you write, but it should be surprising. He has been reviewed by the likes of Stephen King and William Kent Krueger. He teaches writing at OU and OCU and is the author of Edgar Award winning books. I enjoyed his talk very much but didn’t get a book since he didn’t drag them with him. I understand.

Dr. Sheldon Russell Sheldon Russell – Biography was the next speaker. He talked about writing secondary characters and how to give them depth. A good character makes for a good story and the best way to move that story along is through dialogue between the secondary character and the primary. Dr. Russell’s latest book, Listen, is a finalist in the Oklahoma Book Award this year.

Betsy Kulakowski Paranormal Thrillers | Author Betsey Kulakowski spoke about the Power of Color in your books and how colors are used in movies and books to give your character and the setting mood. Colors are very powerful and pull the reader into the story.

Victoria M. Patton Whiskey and Writing | Victoria M. Patton discussed crime fiction and not making errors writing about how the police process a crime. A former forensic scientist, Victoria has processed her share of crimes.

The food was great, seeing old friends was better, but I learned a few things. Like minds meeting with like minds. I plan to make this an annual event and hope to not be squashed like a bug driving on I-35. I’ll be there one way or another! I’ll be able to learn about Another Story, Another Time.

What are you reading/writing this week?

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2024: Another Story, Another Time – St. Patrick

Posted on March 17, 2024 by peggylchambers

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! If the wearin’ o’ the green and maybe some Irish stew are in your future, you might be Irish. My mother said we were Dutch and Irish (we were from Arkansas/the Ozarks). I’m not sure where she got that but with our fair/freckled skin, we would fit in. When I was young and in the sun a lot, my brown hair would turn reddish blonde. Now it has no color, but at least I still have hair. But to people everywhere it is time to raise a glass and celebrate. I am making Reuben sandwiches today and I might find something green in the closet to wear.

I decided for the blog this morning to do a little research on St. Patrick, the man. Another story another time. He was born in England in the latter part of the fifth century and at the age of sixteen he was captured by Irish pirates and enslaved in Ireland. He became a herdsman and at that time he turned to God for strength. He escaped some years later and returned to his home only to come back to Ireland and preach the gospel of Christianity. He is known for converting Ireland to Christianity and for running the snakes from Ireland because during a fast he was attacked by a herd of snakes which he ran into the ocean and there are supposedly no snakes in the country of Ireland. He studied and was ordained into the priesthood and became a bishop in the church.

St. Patrick used the shamrock as a symbol of the Holy Trinity with three leaves on one stem. His date of death is known as March 17, 461 AD. He was buried in Downpatrick’s Down Cathedral. He was never canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church was celebrated as a saint in the 1630s by popular acclaim by the Irish people.

So that is your history lesson for the day. I hope you celebrate your St. Patrick’s Day in the way you like with corned beef and cabbage and beer or whatever your tastebuds like. To me it is the beginning of spring and a time of magic.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

What are you reading/writing this week?

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2024: Another Story, Another Time – The Bradford Pear

Posted on March 10, 2024 by peggylchambers

It’s spring! Well, according to the calendar, we have about 10 days but just look at this beautiful white cloud. I know people say that Bradford Pears are invasive, they break easily in the Oklahoma winds, and then there’s the allergies. But no one talks about how beautiful they are. They are the first thing to bloom in the spring and the first thing to turn red in the fall. I love them. Achoo! Sorry.

My daughter has one in her front yard that hangs over her front door and last week she could barely breathe. My husband’s allergies are worse now than when he was young. But still, I love them. They give me hope that winter is almost over, and warm temperatures are on the way. They are the beginning of spring in Oklahoma.

Ode to a Bradford Pear

White blossoms clean, crisp, delicate as porcelain,

Perched on branches like clouds,

Warmed by sun, and nourished by crystal clear dew.

Pungent in spring, they tumble to the ground in swirls fed by wind.

Petals quickly replaced by soft waxy green leaves

Provide thick shade from summer heat.

Cool and deep, shadows drop temperature for pedestrians.

Across sweltering concrete.

Cooler nights create vibrant orange, red and gold.

Autumn’s bright colors painted by the brush of God,

Creates smiles on the faces of those who tire of the heat.

Their beauty committed to the mind’s eye for cold winter nights.

Dark, wet limbs against purple sky background

Mimic black lace on purple velvet.

Soon branches are covered again in white

As icy snow prepares tree once more for spring.

Next will be the redbuds. They are just a tiny burgundy bud on a delicate bare branch at first, and then they bloom out. Soon they, like the Bradford Pear, will be just another tree with green leaves. But in the beginning, they are the hope that springs eternal. Spring has sprung.

Soon, I’ll give you my opinion of Cottonwoods. Achoooo!

What are you reading/writing/growing this week?

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2024: Another Story, Another Time – Return to the Triple Creek

Posted on March 3, 2024 by peggylchambers

My guest blogger today is Bobbie Mardis. She is the author of The Triple Creek series and writes several genres. She just finished publishing Return to the Triple Creek. Bobbie is a self-published author who has been a friend for many years and has forgotten more about writing than I’ll ever know. Bobbie always told me she read And Still the Waters Run by Angie Debo about the stealing of the Native American land (the story that led to Killers of the Flower Moon) some 20 years ago and the idea for her story began. Her first book The Triple Creek deals with Elinore learning that her inherited ranch was stolen by her ancestors from the Native American people of the area and she becomes determined to right the wrong.

I asked for a summary of Return to the Triple Creek and here is what she said: Elinor Sawyer, believing she had left the T.C. ranch forever, became involved again in its problems, deciding its future, and resolving the on/off again romance with a cowboy.

We know each other through the Enid Writing Club, where you mentored me for years. She is a rock to many in the club. We were so excited when she published her two books. I appreciate our friendship which has been strengthened through our involvement with the EWC, by sharing our writing and our personal stories. We support one another and other writers in many ways.

Who is the author/artist that inspires you the most, and why? I am inspired by reading the works of excellent writers. Those who use brilliant,  creative words to convey ideas through stories or essays: Tolkien, Washington Irving, for example.

If stranded on an island, what one book would you keep with you? That’s tough and I wish I could give a good answer. By the time you’re as old as I am, you’ve read so many, had so many favorites, it gets hard to pick just one. So I won’t.

What are you reading right now? I’m reading books in a series by Ellis Peters whose main character is Cadfael, a 12th century Benedictine monk. He solves a variety of crimes while political intrigue affects the abbey’s activities. Great writing.

Tell us three fascinating things about you: (1) I am astounded —and grateful—that, at my age (91) I can still walk, talk, and write. (2) I fell in love with country/western music in the mid 80’s after being a snob about it previously. (3) My family has grown beyond my five children to now include nine grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. (None of these facts are in any way “fascinating” but there it is)

Describe your ideal workspace…and then tell us about your actual one: Ideal would be quiet room with a great desk chair and all the hi-tech objects to help my work. Actual is a comfortable recliner with the laptop resting on my knees as I type.

What advice do you have for other writers/artists? Don’t give up. It took me ten years to write my first book, and seven to complete the second one. Perfection will never truly be attained (and who decides what is perfect?). Be content with imperfect attempts while developing your work, then take time to iron out the wrinkles. Seek help. Accept suggestions graciously.

Readers can find both of your books on Amazon (will there be a third? We’re excited!). The latest, Return to the Triple Creek, is found at Return to the Triple Creek: Mardis, Bobbie J: 9798875695070: Amazon.com: Books.

It was great having you here, Bobbie, and I know we all wish you continued success. I hope to be able to read a third Triple Creek someday. Pick up a copy of  Return to the Triple Creek. I’m sure you will love it—and leave a review.

What are you reading/writing this week?

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