{"id":3389,"date":"2018-08-23T09:50:37","date_gmt":"2018-08-23T14:50:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/?p=3389"},"modified":"2018-08-23T09:50:37","modified_gmt":"2018-08-23T14:50:37","slug":"the-connie-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/the-connie-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Fanfare & Ballyhoo: The Connie"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Fanfare & Ballyhoo<\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

Article 196<\/p>\n

Walking by Inner Vision Blog<\/h4>\n

I planned to get an early start<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

this morning.<\/em><\/strong><\/h2>\n

I should be pulling weeds outside in my newly crafted garden. I am not certain what to even call this sixty ft. long strip of land that borders the East side of our house.\u00a0 I can’t say it is a flower garden for it really is not. Yes, there are flowers there, but not the glamorous and sophisticated kind of flowers that would qualify it for that title. At first I called it a shade garden, but shortly after I planted this space, we had 5 large pine trees cut down. Now, it is a sunny garden.<\/p>\n

Little solar lights twinkle among the plants at twilight, <\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

I think I will call it my<\/p>\n

Magic Garden<\/strong><\/em><\/h2>\n

In the darkness of night, with the little lights flickering, it\u00a0 feels like magic when I walk down the sidewalk. I feel like I am a little girl, outside at night, with the stars blinking down on me and my garden. Twilight is my favorite time of day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

For Fanfare & Ballyhoo, I am sharing a story I wrote about the creek that runs behind our rural western Pennsylvania home. Our house sets on the ridge overlooking it.\u00a0 Local folks, like me, call this creek, The Connie. I’ve lived by this “crick” all my life, with just a few exceptions when I lived 2 years in West Virginia as I attended graduate school for my MFA degree. And, there was nearly 2 years of living\u00a0 with my husband, Bob, in Silicone Valley, where we worked after I finished grad school.\u00a0 Following that, I lived on the grounds at the Hoyt Institute of Fine Arts for 3 years when I was the Executive Director of that institution. But finally, after all of this, I returned to my first love – the Village of Wurtemburg and our century-old home overlooking “The Connie.” This is where my heart will always live.<\/p>\n

This story appears in my book, Walking by Inner Vision: Stories & Poems, DLD Books, 2017.<\/p>\n

See my Authors Page – Click Here!<\/a><\/p>\n

or Read my story as printed in Magnets & Ladders:\u00a0\u00a0Read it Here!<\/a><\/p>\n

“The Connie,”<\/h4>\n

won a 2nd place award in Memoir,<\/h4>\n

published in the 2018 Spring\/Summer edition<\/h4>\n

Magnets & Ladders,<\/strong><\/em> Literary Magazine.<\/h3>\n

\u00a0Click Here for Magnets & Ladders Magazine<\/a><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Connie<\/strong><\/em><\/h3>\n

The beginning of September signifies the end of summer, <\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

when nights become cooler and I begin to forget
\nthe predictable, unrelenting, steamy days and nights of July
\nand August. Temperature readings begin to drop down
\ninto the 50s. I open the windows and feel the cool breeze
\nmove through the familiar old house. The oppressive heat
\nand humidity of a Pennsylvania summer are swept away
\nby the September breeze.<\/p>\n

I sense the shift of a quickly approaching new season
\nthat is beginning to stir my senses. There is something in
\nthe air that I feel. Is it a kind of nervousness and
\nanticipation of\u2014what? I cannot really say.<\/p>\n

Last night, I lay in my bed listening to the soothing
\ninsect sounds drifting upwards to my open window. The
\nunseen creatures sounded like musicians tuning their
\ninstruments to play night songs. The sounds blended into a
\nnocturnal symphony, a cacophony of an end\u2013of\u2013summer
\nserenade.<\/p>\n

Our century\u2013old home is on a ridge overlooking a
\nwinding creek that meanders for fifty miles in western
\nPennsylvania. This long creek remains the central image of
\nour memories throughout our lives. People from this area
\ncall it \u201cthe Connie.\u201d Its real name is Connoquenessing
\nCreek. For many of the residents of this village, our
\nancestors date back to the mid\u20131700s. That is when the
\nearly settlers were going back to Germany to recruit
\nartisans to come to America and settle here. People who
\nhad skills needed by the colonies were recruited
\nfor about 100 years. Some descendents of the original
\nimmigrant families who settled along this creek married
\nIndians who lived in this area.
\nIn the summertime, the Connie comes alive with the
\nvoices and sounds of the local \u201ccrick\u201d culture. Kayaking
\nbegins in earnest in late winter, as soon as the ice begins to
\ndissipate. Hearty enthusiasts will continue to ride the
\nrapids through the summer days and into the fall season.<\/p>\n

The Connie\u2019s whitewater rapids provide the perfect setting<\/strong>
\nfor a swift course for kyakers to perfect their skills.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

On August nights, I can hear people laughing from
\ndown below the ridge. Summer nights, some people arrive
\nhere at the crick in the late evening, in the twilight, just
\nbefore it gets dark. They leave their cars and trucks in a
\nclearing beside the road, just under the old trees.
\nGenerations of local people come to spend the night
\nfishing. I often watch as they pull out their gear. They bring
\ncoolers and jugs, flashlights, buckets of worms, fishing
\npoles, nets, and blankets. Some of them wear baseball caps
\nor slouchy fishing hats. One by one, they scramble down
\nthe steep, rocky path that leads to the deep water below.
\nWhen they get to the bottom of the hill, they walk out onto
\nthe big, flat rock where they spend the night. I hear them
\ntalking and laughing; their voices blend in with the insect
\nserenade.<\/p>\n

In childhood memories, my father and I <\/strong><\/h3>\n

are in the backyard behind our home in the foothills. I still live in the
\nvalley between the steep hills. Like most of the
\nsteelworkers in our village, my father loved to go fishing in
\nthe Connie. In the darkness of an August night, I helped
\nhim find earthworms. His steelworker\u2019s helmet had a
\nstrange yellow light on the front of it. I smelled the acrid
\nsmoke, heard it sizzle and sputter as we bent over the dark
\nground. We poured mustard water down into the little
\ntunnels where the earthworms lived. In just a few seconds,
\na worm came to the surface seeking fresh air, and we
\ngrabbed that worm, then sloshed it around quickly in a
\nbowl of water to wash off the mustard water. Finally, we
\nput the captured worm into Dad\u2019s metal pail with the holes
\nin the sides. He had put dirt into the pail before we went
\nsearching for the worms. We turned over rocks and found
\ncreepy creatures hiding under them. Dad called them
\nhellgrammites, and they made me shiver when I looked at
\nthem.<\/p>\n

My favorite sight in August<\/strong><\/h3>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

is the Queen Anne\u2019s lace
\nmingled with the periwinkle blue flowers of chicory. The
\ntwo wildflowers grow together along all the roads in early
\nAugust. I take my camera outside so I can capture the
\nbeauty of these disorderly flowers. I imagine these fields of
\nuncultivated flowers long after they disappear in mid\u2013
\nSeptember. A friend once told me, \u201cWhen you see the
\nchicory blooming, you know winter is not far away.\u201d
\nOh, I should let you know: Queen Anne\u2019s lace is my
\nfavorite wildflower because of the delicate, tiny flowers
\nclustered on thin, celadon\u2013green stems. The flowers seem
\nto float in space and ride the soft wafts of the August
\nbreeze. Fragile, lacy blossoms dance in the fragrant
\nafternoon air.<\/p>\n

The white blossoms of Queen Anne\u2019s lace contrast
\nwith the sturdier chicory flowers. Chicory resembles a
\ndaisy, with petals branching out from a round, dark
\ncenter. Each chicory bloom has little oval petals that come
\nto a tip that looks like someone snipped it off flat with
\nzigzag pinking shears. The brilliant blue color of the
\nchicory seems to pop out from among the white Queen
\nAnne\u2019s lace in full bloom side by side with the chicory.
\nWhen I see the chicory begin to bloom, I know that the
\nseason will soon be changing to autumn.
\nAnd it always seems that it won\u2019t be long before I\u2019ll be
\nstrolling through the colored leaves on my leisurely walks
\nthrough the woods along the Connie. My thoughts drift to
\nthe stories my father told me about his Indian great\u2013
\ngrandmother. I stop and look around through the woods
\nand down to the whitewater creek. Some days, my spirit
\ncalls out to her as I look around in the world that she lived
\nin, too. Often, I feel like I am walking over layers and
\ngenerations of my family members. I ask myself, \u201cAm I an
\noverlay from past generations of people who lived in this
\nplace?\u201d<\/p>\n

I recognize my ancestors\u2019 presence <\/strong><\/h3>\n

because they seem to surround me. I can feel them. I ask my
\ngrandmothers,<\/p>\n

\u201cDid your feet walk on this path beside the<\/em><\/strong>
\nConnie, too?\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

____________________<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This essay is the sole property of<\/p>\n

Lynda McKinney Lambert.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright, August 23, 2018. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

PLEASE SHARE or Re-Blog this article to your friends on Social Media. Share the Happiness.<\/p>\n

All I ask, is that you COPY and SEND the entire article WITH\u00a0 my Copyright information as it appears here.<\/p>\n

Visit my WELCOME PAGE<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

E-mail:\u00a0\u00a0llambert@zoominternet.net<\/a><\/p>\n

Blog and website at:\u00a0\u00a0www.lyndalambert.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Author\u2019s Page:\u00a0http:\/\/www.dldbookslcom\/lyndalaambert<\/a><\/p>\n

My books on Amazon:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/h2>\n

<\/h2>\n

<\/h2>\n

Walking by Inner Vision: Stories & Poems<\/em>:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0See my newest book..click here.<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n
\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

<\/h3>\n

\u00a0Our truest life is when we are in our dreams \u2013 awake. <\/em><\/h3>\n
~Henry David Thoreau<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/h2>\n

<\/h2>\n

Concerti: Psalms for the Pilgrimage:<\/h2>\n

See this book, Click here<\/a><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

August. I take my camera outside so I can capture the
\nbeauty of these disorderly flowers. I imagine these fields of
\nuncultivated flowers long after they disappear in mid\u2013
\nSeptember.<\/p>\n Continue reading →<\/span><\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trusting-god"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/PetuniaBlossom.jpg?fit=5184%2C3888&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4gbwn-SF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2963,"url":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/fanfare-ballyhoo\/","url_meta":{"origin":3389,"position":0},"title":"Fanfare and Ballyhoo","author":"Lynda Lambert","date":"February 26, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"black locust takes a long nap in rural woodlands","rel":"","context":"In "#Trusting God"","block_context":{"text":"#Trusting God","link":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/category\/trusting-god\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8782,"url":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/friday-fanfare-ballyhoo-_smashwords-songs\/","url_meta":{"origin":3389,"position":1},"title":"Friday Fanfare & Ballyhoo _Smashwords & Songs","author":"Lynda Lambert","date":"April 23, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Friday Fanfare & Ballyhoo - a feature to celebrate and things to CROW ABOUT.","rel":"","context":"In "#Trusting God"","block_context":{"text":"#Trusting God","link":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/category\/trusting-god\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo by Tim Mossholder from Pexels","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pexels-photo-953150.jpeg?fit=1125%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pexels-photo-953150.jpeg?fit=1125%2C750&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pexels-photo-953150.jpeg?fit=1125%2C750&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pexels-photo-953150.jpeg?fit=1125%2C750&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/pexels-photo-953150.jpeg?fit=1125%2C750&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3038,"url":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/fanfare-and-ballyhoo\/","url_meta":{"origin":3389,"position":2},"title":"Fanfare and Ballyhoo","author":"Lynda Lambert","date":"April 1, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"anticipating sunshine after final snowfall soft warm rain, new growth fragrant clusters swagger","rel":"","context":"In "#Trusting God"","block_context":{"text":"#Trusting God","link":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/category\/trusting-god\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DSC04909.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DSC04909.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DSC04909.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DSC04909.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/DSC04909.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3209,"url":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/fanfare_ballyhoo_series\/","url_meta":{"origin":3389,"position":3},"title":"Friday Fanfare & Ballyhoo","author":"Lynda Lambert","date":"May 25, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I'll continue to provide Voice Recordings of me reading my poems or essays so you can listen while you look at the post..\u00a0 I am having a grand time writing my 2 blogs, making the voice recordings, completing my next full-length book, marketing my writing and art work. I appreciate\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "#Trusting God"","block_context":{"text":"#Trusting God","link":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/category\/trusting-god\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Periwinkle1.jpg?fit=1200%2C948&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Periwinkle1.jpg?fit=1200%2C948&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Periwinkle1.jpg?fit=1200%2C948&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Periwinkle1.jpg?fit=1200%2C948&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Periwinkle1.jpg?fit=1200%2C948&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8984,"url":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/fanfare-ballyhoo-and-opportunity-for-poets\/","url_meta":{"origin":3389,"position":4},"title":"Friday Fanfare & Ballyhoo – The Pangolin Review","author":"Lynda Lambert","date":"May 14, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Despite the many challenges The Pangolin Review staff encountered due to the impact of the Corona virus in India, they managed to get the April issue published. This is certainly a large project for them and to get it done under the difficult circumstances is remarkable. Read the April 30,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "#Trusting God"","block_context":{"text":"#Trusting God","link":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/category\/trusting-god\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo of a Pangolin","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/pexels-photo-7363955_Pangolin.jpeg?fit=500%2C333&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6120,"url":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/favorite-things-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":3389,"position":5},"title":"Favorite Things","author":"Lynda Lambert","date":"December 16, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Pennsylvania author Lynda McKinney Lambert - reads her poem, \"Fanfare & Ballyhoo.\"","rel":"","context":"In "#Trusting God"","block_context":{"text":"#Trusting God","link":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/category\/trusting-god\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Wood-Fence_Barn_Snow_A-Western-Pennsylvania-Christmas_LLambert-essay-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Wood-Fence_Barn_Snow_A-Western-Pennsylvania-Christmas_LLambert-essay-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Wood-Fence_Barn_Snow_A-Western-Pennsylvania-Christmas_LLambert-essay-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Wood-Fence_Barn_Snow_A-Western-Pennsylvania-Christmas_LLambert-essay-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Wood-Fence_Barn_Snow_A-Western-Pennsylvania-Christmas_LLambert-essay-scaled.jpg?fit=1200%2C900&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3389","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3389"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3389\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3397,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3389\/revisions\/3397"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3389"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3389"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lyndalambert.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3389"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}