I assign this poem to students all the time but I’ve never tried to do it myself so today’s mentor poem is Where I’m From by George Ella Lyon.

Here’s my first draft.

Where I’m From

I am from sunshine
clothes hanging on the line
oranges and apricots
(not a fan)
walnuts and almonds
(could never get enough)
I am from catfish
caught by papa
frozen by nana in a wax milk carton
to feed us in the winter months.

I am from Captain Kangaroo
Miss Nancy’s magic mirror
Bosco syrup and KoolAid
Red Skeleton and Ed Sullivan
G.I. Joe full-size and Barbie
with no moving parts.

I am from White Gloves and Party Manners
dresses made at home
winter coats from Rhodes
the PowWow parade
and fireworks at the high school on the fourth of July.

In my attic bedroom
I slept with open windows
the smell orange blossoms
carried to my dreams
by the ghosts that shared my space.

Susan Taylor Brown

So kimberleylittle tagged me for a meme and since I’m in the memory mood right now, here goes:

1. The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5-6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing ten years ago?

I had just moved back to California and was wondering if my now husband was going to propose to me or not. I was waiting for CAN I PRAY WITH MY EYES OPEN? to come out and wondering if I made the right decision to transfer instead of looking for a new company in the Silicon Valley.

What are five things on your to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

1. Finish the ESL book that is due this week.
2. Call the closet place to come out and give us estimates.
3. Call the wood floor guy to come out and give us estimates.
4. Answer the interview questions that have been waiting for me for too long.
5. Mail out books to about 5 people that have been waiting for me for too long.

What are some snacks you enjoy?

chocolate
vanilla ice cream with my husband’s hot fudge sauce
almonds and walnuts
chai with extra pepper

What would you do if you were a billionaire?

Quit my dayjob!!!
Set up a trust to take care of each of my kids and my mom.
Move to Santa Cruz.
Adopt as many dogs and horses as I could and donate to take care of more.
Set up some literacy programs.

And the list could go on and on…

What are three of your bad habits?

Procrastination. Procrastination. Procrastination. (This really trumps everything else.)
Beating myself up for things that aren’t my fault.
Not trying because I don’t think I’ll be any good at something

What are five places where you have lived?

Concord, CA
Oakley, CA
Norfolk, VA
New Orleans, LA
San Jose, CA

What are five jobs you have had?

Woolworths Drug Store ( I had to take a math test)
worked on a horse ranch, cleaning, feeding and giving riding lessons
bookkeeper for a taxi cab company
worked in the warehouse for oil field services
Project coordinator in R & D for a tech company

What six people do you want to tag?

slatts

beckylevine

madwriter

mirtlemist

laurasalas

pambachorz

annemariepace has created a fun new meme! After chatting with her about it today, I’m giving it an official start. You can read her answers here.

Anne Marie Pace’s Memory Meme