Red, white and blue.  What does it mean to you?  As the Independence Day approaches, I remember July 4, 1989 when it was 101 degrees in the shade and we still played the annual softball game.  I recall 2004, when the day average was not even 60, but the wind made it feel more like 50.  We shivered under several layers of blankets by the lake. Fireworks figured in always, but so did storytelling around the fire.  It’s what I cherish the most. Once Oren became a grandpa, it seems his fireside tales got even taller.  He’d start the first story, and it was typically based on summer and fireworks, the county fair and the lake.  Then, the grandkids would take their turns.  Most were a creative version of their Papa’s story, but all packed a punch of their own. Telling stories that made sense wasn’t relevant.  Telling stores that had settings, plots or arcs wasn’t important either.  What WAS important was expression—and the countenance that came along with it.  Big eyes and a smirk.  Timid eyes and a bashful grin.  Searching little eyes looking for approval.  Smiling eyes responding to acclamation and applause. Story time after dusk,, around a fire.  Is there anything better?  Whether you read a child stories from books, or tell them stories from your heart, there’s no better investment in the life of a child.  Happy Storytelling on this Independence Day!

We are about to roll out the first book of the Ozzy Ox series and that, alone, is worthy as the subject of this entire post on Party on Paper.  But, this is also Father’s Day week, and I can’t let that go by without acknowledging the role my children’s father played at story time in our house as they grew up.  Not to brag, but our three kids had exemplary academic experiences both in public school and college.   I accredit that to story time. But before I pat myself on the back for establishing from early on a bedtime routine that involved books from Berenstain Bears to Little House on the Prairie, I can’t discount what our kids most likely value the most to this day:  Hubert and Pubert. No, these weren’t characters from Harper Collins.  These were characters who, in Oren’s zany, nightly stores, magically mirrored exactly what our kids experienced.   If Jerrad went to the spelling bee that day, Hubert at bedtime also had to share HIS spelling bee experience.  If Amber went to horse camp, Pubert, ironically, just came home from horse camp.  If Kelsey went fishing with Grandpa, Hubert, at the evening’s end, would recount that he went fishing, too. The “Bert” duo wasn’t very mannerly.  These were dudes who were often politically incorrect and mostly struggling to learn life’s everyday lessons.  Somewhere in the calamity of their everyday hysterics, though, there was an ever so subtle snippet of enlightenment. A gentle nudge that quietly suggested to the listener that there is an underlying moral value free for the taking. Not everyone is as crafty as Oren when it comes to storytelling.  Never fear.  Reading to children is the more conventional way to bond together for story time.  Either way, this is the week to pay tribute to every father and grandfather who put a child on his lap for the most important 15 minutes of each day. Happy Father's Day to all the daddies and granddaddies out there!

Beginning a blog—that and writing children’s books has been a longtime dream of mine, one I never seemed to find time for. But last fall I had an unnerving trip to an emergency room that ultimately put me in an ambulance and then a hospital. What they thought was a blood clot in my head turned out to be what I always knew I had: spider webs where brains are supposed to be. The good news is that there’s nothing wrong with me! But the experience prompted me to get on with it. Writing and blogging—along with photography and traveling. Bucket list dreams that can’t stay put for too much longer, that’s what my spider-web laden brain is trying to tell me! So, along with bringing Ozzy Ox to life (look for him in four rhyming picture books to be released in 2023) I am heading to Ireland in a few weeks with grandson Isaac—the destination he chose as his graduation gift. He’s a fun guy, a real personality. Just can’t wait to see how he and the cloggers of Ireland get along! So please visit often to see us in Ireland. And meanwhile, come back often to see how my very first book launch is going. Look for that —Ozzy Ox Candy Stash—on July 31!!