What I'm reading- Alice in Wonderland

I'd of course seen the movie, but for some reason never read the book of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

That has changed since my book club decided to read it, and I have to say, it is a delightful story. Crazy? Yes. Makes you feel like you're in a dream state? Yes. But fun nonetheless.

Alice finds herself following a white rabbit into adventures where she repeatedly changed size from gigantic to nine inches tall and everywhere in between. She encounters all kinds of weird animals and even a deck of cards.

The only disturbing thing in the book, to me, is when her neck grows so long she can't see her hands that are down below the treeline. She has to snake her neck through the trees so she can reach her hand, and the magic shrinking mushroom piece she's holding. That kind of freaked me out.

It's a quick read (I finished the book in a few hours thanks to pictures and the blank pages between each chapter) that will have you singing, "I'm painting the roses red," for the rest of the evening!

Happy Birthday, Red Buttons (comedian)

Red Buttons was born Aaron Chwatt on February 5, 1919. He started his show business career by singing on street corners. When he was 16 year old he got a job as a bellhop at Ryan’s Tavern in the Bronx. It was here that he got the name Red Buttons which came from his red hair and the shiny buttons on his uniform. Later that year, he worked on the Borscht Belt, a vacation resort in the Catskills, doing a comedy act. This would later land him a role on Broadway. In 1941, he was supposed to appear in a Broadway show, The Admiral Had a Wife, a farce set in Pearl Harbor. Opening was supposed to be on December 8, 1941. Obviously inappropriate after the attack, it was never performed. Later, he would joke that the Japanese only attacked Pearl Harbor to keep him off Broadway.

He had a varied comedy career in television and film, even winning an Academy Award and nominated for two Golden Globes. He was frequent guest on the “Dean Martin Celebrity Roast.” He was also a songwriter and singer. He also did numerous telethons and charitable events.

He died of vascular disease on July 13, 2006.

Happy Birthday, Red Buttons!!

Also celebrating a birthday:
William Burroughs (Beatnik-era writer), Henry “Hank” Aaron (baseball hall of famer), Barbara Hershey (Actress)

Funny 1960's Commercial for Mountain Dew

Join Willy the Hillbilly in this great song of Mountain Dew. "It'll tickle your innards"

Con Women!! Part 1

For February, I thought I would explore some historical con women.

Today's con woman is Cassie Chadwick, born Elizabeth Bigley. She was born October 10, 1859 in Ontario. Not much is known about her early years, but when she was 22 she was arrested for forgery, then released because of insanity. Shortly after that, she moved to Cleveland, Ohio and married Dr. Springsteen, but was thrown out of the house when he found out about her past. She worked as a fortune teller in San Francisco, then returned to Cleveland only to be arrested once more for forgery. She was sentenced to nine and a half years, but was released after four by the then-governor, William McKinley.

After her release, it's not clear if she went into prostitution, or ran a brothel, but either way it wasn't the most respectable line of work. But that wouldn't be forever. She married Dr. Leroy S. Chadwick, a respected Cleveland physician, and began her most famous con of all.

She claimed she was the illegitimate daughter of Andrew Carnegie (pictured above). Cassie made friends with one of her husbands acquaintances, a banker named Dillon. They road in a carriage to the Carnegie home, and she went inside while Dillon waited in the carriage. She stayed in for 30 minutes, then came out and waved to the well-dressed man standing at the window. She claimed this was Carnegie. Then she tripped and "accidentally" dropped a bank note for 2 million dollars signed by Carnegie (her forging experience coming out!!). This, she claims, was to keep her illegitimacy a secret.

What actually happened inside was she talked to the butler about a maid that had worked in the house. She claimed she was checking references, and it was the Butler who stood at the window.

This convinced Dillon to recommend Cassie for all kinds of loans from the Cleveland banks. She received millions with high interest on the promise of high payment when Carnegie died. She also received loans from other millionaires, and it was one of these men who began the investigation that led to her downfall.

Carnegie later issued a statement that she was not his daughter, and that he hadn't signed a bank note in 30 years.

Because of her antics, there was a run on one of the banks and it had to shut down. Many more banks, and millionaires, who had loaned her money were out millions of dollars.

Cassie was arrested and sentenced to 10 (though some sources say 14) years, and fined $70,000. Less then two years after she was sentenced, she died, on her birthday, October 10, 1907, in the prison hospital.

What I'm reading- Bonnie Leon's, Valley of Promises

I've always enjoyed Bonnie Leon's books. I've read many of her recent books, but I wanted to catch up on some of her older stories, so I picked up The Matanuska Series.


Book 1, Valley of Promises, starts with a family in desperate circumstances during the Great Depression in Wisconsin. They are lured to Alaska with the promise of land and a future. Laurel, the nineteen-year-old daughter of Will and Jean Hasper, fights the move, but decides to go in order to help her family. She vows to return to Wisconsin after they are settled and get her teaching degree. This plan changes however when she falls in love with Alaska, and two very different men.

I was rooting for both Robert and Adam, but only one could win, and Bonnie guided both Laurel and me into falling deeper in love with one more than the other.

Valley of Promises is a great read that I flew through in a few days! Check it out!!

Happy reading!

Do you notice the beauty around you?

I have to admit, sometimes in the middle of summer I'll suddenly notice how beautiful the mountains are, or in fall suddenly notice the leaves are a gorgeous color. Sometimes I'm so busy with life, that I fail to notice the beauty of what is going on right in front of me.

In January of 2007, The Washington Post approached Joshua Bell, the famous violin player, to help them with an experiment. They wanted to see if people took the time to notice beauty in their everyday lives. Bell had performed the night before where the average seat cost $100. That next day, he stood in a Washington D.C. Subway terminal for 45 minutes he played his 3.5 million dollar violin, and he collected $32 in tips.

I hope we all take time today to notice God's creation around us.

Happy Birthday William McKinley- Our 25th President

William McKinley was born on January 29, 1843, in Niles, Ohio, as the seventh of nine children.

In June of 1861, near the beginning of the Civil War, he enlisted in the Union Army and fought in the 23rd Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Infantry. He was promoted to Second Lieutenant by his superior officer, and another future President, Rutherford B. Hayes, after McKinley drove a mule team pulling rations under enemy fire at Antietam.
He received several more promotions, and left the army as a Captain.

1869 saw more of the settled, lover side of McKinley. He began courting his future wife, Ida Saxton. They married two years later and within three years they had two daughters. Sadly, neither would live past five.

Around the same time he met Ida, he went into politics. Before he became President, he held many offices including Congressman, and Governor of Ohio. He was elected to the presidency in 1896. This year also marked the beginning of the "Progressive Era."

During his years in office he launched the Spanish-American war, annexed the former Spanish territories of The Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Hawaiian Islands, and fought for Civil Rights.

He was assassinated by an Anarchist on September 14, 1901 at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo NY. He was shot twice on September 6, and while the doctors never found the second bullet, they thought he would recover. That was not the case, as eight days he died of gangrene. His last words were, "It is God's way. His will be done, not ours."

He was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt.

Happy Birthday, President McKinley!!

Other Famous Birthdays: My mother!! Happy birthday, Mom!!!
Who does Laurie Boyd share a birthday with?
Tom Selleck (64), Oprah (55), and Heather Graham (39)