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Your
Mother Was A A Work in Progress |
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About
the Book |
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In this collection of heartwarming and hilarious stories of childhood, and poignant and humorous essays and poetry, Louise Mitchell Palmer provides the fortunate reader with a unique glimpse into both her personal and America's past.
From tales of growing up in a rural, close-knit Utah town, to her passions in later life, Louise Palmer describes all in rich, vivid detail and in a voice that is at once fresh and familiar.
Part memoir, part musings, "Your Mother Was a Person" reminds the reader of the joy, tears and above all, the humanity that enrich life at any age.
The
following are excerpts from "Your Mother Was A Person"
Editor's Note:
In 1929, Louise traveled to California with her grandfather, "Nangy,"
and her brother Bob. The following excerpt is from Louise's description
of that odyssey.
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We
had dinner there in Las Vegas. While Nangy and Bob went to wash
their hands, I went to the toilet. (Toilets are called Ladies'
Rooms in Las Vegas.) As soon as I opened the door I was struck
dumb at the grandeur of everything. All of the stalls, walls and
floors were made of gray marble. It was so smooth and cool and
beautiful. I gaped around so long that I just had time to wash
my hands and rub a lot of ladies' room soap into them. Later I
could spit on them and blow bubbles.
….After we got on the bus again it was too dark to blow bubbles so I went to sleep. I loved to hear Nangy sleep. He was asthmatic and he wheezed when he breathed. He could wheeze up and down the scale and sometimes seemed to harmonize with himself, sounding like a whole woodwind section. … The driver told us that there would be no more stops until morning; however, if we were thirsty, there would be cold water in a jug at the front of the bus. I guess I went up and down the aisle a hundred times. The driver had to reach out his arm each time to catch me and keep me from falling. It is not easy to walk up and down in a bus that is bumping and swaying and going 50 miles an hour. Especially when you have on movie star dark glasses because of it being California. My hands were all lathered up from the spilled drinking water and were making bubbles on their own. The driver told me repeatedly to sit down, but it was kind of fun having him catch me. Nangy and Bob tried to catch me too, but I was kind of slick from the soap and I could elude their grasps. Nangy finally threatened to spank me if I didn't behave. He had never laid a hand on me before except in loving gestures. His anger surprised and scared me, so I went to sleep again. |
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from
"California Here I Come -- 1929"
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| Today is my 80th birthday and already I have made two life-altering decisions. The first, and perhaps the most important, is that I have decided not to kill the man who trimmed the camellia bushes on the east side of my house. The thought of killing him first entered my mind when I saw the insult that had been done to the plants. Plants that had brightened my mornings for many years. Plants that had been close enough to my window that I could watch how they harbored birds as they built their nests and raised their families. Now, instead of the lovely pink and red blossoms and shiny green leaves that had covered my windows and shaded the lawn, there were blunt sticks and twigs that were pathetic and awkward as they stuck out in all directions. Just a few leaves were left and no buds at all. Knowing how long it will take for my plants to grow back to their former beauty, and also taking into account the probable length of my remaining life span, the urge to kill was uppermost in my mind. |
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from
"My 80th Birthday -- 1999"
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| Table
of Contents Dedication Acknowledgements I. My Early Years in Parowan Parowan Parowan II The Quilt Walk The Games Some Children Play Memories of "The Parowan Spit and Whittle Gang" Remember the Good Times Crippled For Life Growing Up The Doll with the White Coat and Hat One Sunday Morning Old Tom I Start School-My First Big Adventure The Day the Drums Played Parowan High School Band 1936 Marcheta Parowan Elementary and High School Puppy Love How I Learned To Swear The Cross-Eyed Ghost A Perfect Day Good Morning! Aunt Laura's Date II. My Grandparents Grandpa Mitchell's Model A Lorette Orton Mitchell George P. Brown George P. Brown I Love You Grandfather Brown's Tin Lizzy Mary Elizabeth Bandy Brown III. My First California Odyssey California Here I Come The El Monte Adventurers I Love California We Go to Los Angeles We See the Pacific Ocean No More Bananas-We Return to Parowan |
IV.
My Mother (Was a Person, I Later Discovered) Mother Buys A Car Mother Knits a Dress for Me Mother and Daylight Saving Time My Mother's Cooking Mother Receives a Proposal Mother Joins the Mormon Church My Mother's Hands V. I Become Mrs. Rodney Palmer (But What Happened to Louise?) A Romantic Proposal My Wedding Day What's In a Name? VI. Finely Settled The Trail at Lake Chabot Two Dozen Long Stemmed Roses One Foot in My Mouth and the Other on a Banana Peel! Introduction to Loneliness Loneliness My Adventure in the Twilight Zone Bye Bye Baby Halloween An Uninvited Guest My First Trip to Jade Cove White Heels-Pink Toes Spring Cleaning I Cleared Out My Closet-Almost A Child's Voice One Woman's Path to Glory Lilacs Why I No Longer Wear a Girdle A Sentimental Journey Heroes Come In All Sizes and Ages So What! Musings My 80th Birthday 1999 In the Mind's Eye But Maybe I Brag! The Christmas Gift An Oh-My-Gosh Day How I Became Short, Fat, Old, and Ugly- A Work In Progress These Things I Believe |