Category Archives: growing up

Nothing else to do but read

Posted on August 5, 2016 by jyourist

Today JB and I went to the library. We haven’t been to the library in many, many years. We read a lot, but somehow have purchased all our reading materials from bookstores or online. When I was at work I would … Continue reading →

Posted in books, bookstore, family, growing up, reading | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Boyhood

Posted on August 18, 2014 by jyourist

I won’t be adding much to all the praise that has been heaped upon Boyhood. Indeed, it is a remarkable film. A fictional film that feels like a documentary. It was filmed over a 12 year period so you actually see … Continue reading →

Posted in film, growing up, movies | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

the Quidnunc

Posted on August 15, 2013 by jyourist

Years ago, 50 years ago to be exact, our next door neighbor handed my mother a copy of a novel he had written. the Quidnunc, as he titled it, weighs in at over 1184 pages, precisely three and a half pounds … Continue reading →

Posted in family, growing up, writing | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Ready. Aim. Fire.

Posted on July 2, 2013 by jyourist

In commemoration of my sister’s birthday, which is today, I am reposting a story I wrote a couple years ago of one of my favorite stories of her and her irreverent self.  When we were young, every Memorial Day our … Continue reading →

Posted in family, growing up, memoir, World War II | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

The Andrews Sisters and the twins

Posted on January 31, 2013 by jyourist

Patty Andrews, the last of the Andrews sisters, died today. She was almost 95. Their music is very familiar to all, swingy, jazzy, a personification of that era before I was born, the times my parents grew up in, the … Continue reading →

Posted in aging, family, growing up, music | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Fire and Ice: terminal yin/ yang

Posted on December 5, 2012 by jyourist

Surfing the web, I saw that it is Walt Disney’s birthday today. One of the most famous urban legends about him, of course, is the one that Disney was cryogenically frozen upon his death. Part of this legend had it … Continue reading →

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“The Portrait” by Stanley Kunitz

Posted on October 15, 2012 by jyourist

My mother never forgave my father for killing himself, especially at such an awkward time and in a public park, that spring when I was waiting to be born. She locked his name in her deepest cabinet and would not … Continue reading →

Posted in family, growing up, poetry | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

“Knock Knock” by Daniel Beaty

Posted on September 30, 2012 by jyourist
Posted in family, growing up, poetry | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The sound of the nap, the smell of the ink

Posted on July 19, 2012 by jyourist

I am an artist. From the months of September through mid-June, I am a Humanities teacher and apply all my creative juices in helping students to get excited about what they are learning and to feel empowered about making constructive … Continue reading →

Posted in art, artist, creativity, family, growing up | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Well, so much for truth

Posted on June 30, 2012 by jyourist

Today I was looking at the back of my studio door where a package of Cuffettes hangs. These are plastic sleeves that were created for women to wear to keep their sleeves or lower arms clean while working. The plastic … Continue reading →

Posted in family, growing up, truth | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment