Down the Rabbit Hole

During the time I was working full time, I didn’t even try to concentrate on writing, as I couldn’t get to the place I wanted to write from. These days, spending most of my time thinking about my kids and their lives mid 20th-Century, as I have heard the 1950’s called, I am surprised to find that I cannot keep the rest of my life straight! In other words, I knew that it was hard to get down into the real locus of a book if you had much else to think about. I did not know that, once you had gone there, you might have a hard time getting back!

It is a little like deep sea diving. If you go down, you have to come back slowly, so you don’t get the bends. Don laughs at me, seeing that I can’t remember what day it is, or what daily tasks I had hoped to accomplish. “Welcome to my world,” he says. He is always in the present, using calendars and emails to remind himself of what he wants to do. Only with effort, and lots of lists, do I keep the two parts of my concentration flowing smoothly. I have no wish to let writing replace my blessed, active daily life.

This week, with guests in the house and some work for others, I didn’t do any original writing. There was time for editing and research, however. For example:

When would Mother have been reading Adele Davis? She was often interested in food and cooking, and her handwriting is all over many cookbooks and recipe files which are still to be found scattered among her children. “Let’s Cook It Right” was first published in 1947, and Mother certainly could have been reading it ten years later in North Dakota. Later, in the 1960’s, she had copies of “Food Is Your Best Medicine,” by Henry Bieler. I remember her standing over a pot of Bieler broth, happy when she went on to something else! I am never sure how Mother and Dad got their hands on things, but they did manage to be quite current, mostly due to the large number of magazines which arrived in the mail.

During the time Adele Davis (pictured above) was writing, she was living in southern California with complete access to fresh vegetables, something we didn’t have in the winter. The most lasting part of Davis’ influence was probably in the lovely breads we often made, whole wheat, sometimes using brewers’ yeast or milk powder to intensify the protein and vitamins. I really don’t remember eating much Wonder bread. “Mattress stuffing” Dad called it. Towards the end of his life, Dad was grinding the grains to put into his breads.

At my desk this morning it is very quiet. The sky is dark, the wind is strong and it is raining heavily, raining sideways. Reminding me to let myself down, down the rabbit hole to see what adventures await my brave young protagonists.