Voice--Writing in Your Natural, Personal Style

I've been doing the Freelance Dance for almost nine years. I just found out today that a site I've been written for since 2006 is changing dramatically again. I'll adapt. I can chameleon when I have to. But one thing I will never do is change me. I won't compromise my ideals or my style. Neither should you. When you write, use your own natural genuine voice.   Quit Writing Textbook Copy, Let Your Voice Sing Out

Al-Anon Slogans for Coping with Stress: Easy Does It

I just had a major meltdown the other day. When I was a younger mom, I had them more frequently. I'd been doing so much better and it makes me mad that I had one. But I know now to look to the source of the problem. And I found it--pushing myself too hard. After talking to husband and kids (and apologizing profusely), they all said that I didn't rest enough. Which was kind of them to empathize but I still feel badly. But maybe it's also time to start forgiving myself and letting up a bit, too. 

I'm trained as teacher but can't find a job, so I write online. Since I started this job we've been able to dig out of debt, thanks be the higher power I choose to call God. I'm glad we don't owe and I'm terrified of going back there. So I push myself--hard. As my oldest says, my reward to myself for a day of work is more work. Not good. I cracked. So I went back to my AlAnon roots to see where I went wrong. Alanon and AA, or Alcoholics Anonymous have wonderful and witty slogans that I use to guide my life.

For coping with stress, worry and tension, I remembered 'Easy Does It'. Another version of this slogan says, 'Easy does it does it Best." If I'm constantly driving myself to achieve more, I'm hardly taking it easy! So writers, let's meditate on the wisdom of "Easy Does it" so we don't drive ourselves and everyone crazy, but most importantly so we can learn to say "well done" instead of "damn you, lazy person! You're a failure!" (those are my old self-messages--perhaps you're familiar with them. It's time you and I started being nice to ourselves, right? 

Ice Cream Dreams and Michigan Memories

Here's an example of personal memoirs writing. Use this for an example of nostalgia or local history writing.

Ice cream has spelled summer since the Chinese invented it 3,000 years ago. It was primarily for nobility and the upper class until 1776, when the first public ice cream parlor opened in New York City. Ice cream went portable when edible coronets, or cones, made from waffles were introduced at the St. Louis World's Fair. My grandmother remembered buying ice cream squares wrapped in paper, from street vendors in Grand Rapids, Mich. When I was a kid, the Good Humor man still sold frozen novelties, accompanied by a cheerful tune. 

I grew up in Grand Rapids and Muskegon, Mich., in 1960s and 1970s. Dairy Queen, Tastee-Freez and other seasonal, walk-up ice cream stands ruled the street. My dad was the Rootbeer Float King; few summer evenings went by without a trip to the ice cream stand for this seasonal favorite.

Back in the day, ice cream was a quarter a scoop. Miss Lisa's near the U.S.31 on-ramp in Ferrysburg, Mich., has new ownership. Gone are the days of that $.25 ice cream cone of Hudsonville Ice Cream, the best in the world. Hudsonville invented Mackinaw Island Fudge and Moose Tracks flavors. I miss sitting on the swing sharing an ice cream and watching the children play on the climber. This was Tao of summer 

 

Two chain ice cream establishments, were Michigan favorites. House of Flavors featured the Pig's Dinner (five kinds of ice cream) and gave out yellow and blue "I Made a Pig of Myself at House of Flavors" buttons if you ate it all. Baskin-Robbins featured the famous 31 Flavors. Of the many House of Flavors locations, only two still exist in Ludington and Manistee, Mich. I just found out last summer that the Manistee location was torn down. 

In the early-1970s Michigan tried recreating the Gay Nineties ice-cream parlors. In Muskegon, there was the High Wheeler. In Grand Rapids, folks loved Farrell's Ice Cream, with its Dixieland feel. The Farrell's brass band, with bass drum and Barbershop Quartet, would play and sing "Happy Birthday" to guests.

Soda fountains were also popular. The soda fountain was a counter, set up in drug stores. If I was good while shopping Grandma got me an ice cream from Dean's (later Strayer's) Pharmacy on Broadway in Muskegon. A block away from my house in Grand Haven, was Pfaff's Pharmacy. Their 1950s style fountain still had spinning red-topped stools and uses the old stainless steel ice cream mixers, freezers and utensils. These were made a few blocks away at the long-defunct Bastian-Blessing.

For the longest time,  Pfaff still served phosphates, sundaes, triple-scoop cones, floats, malteds, sodas and Lime and Cherry Cokes (not the canned kind, these are made from fruit syrup). A chocolate malt from Pfaff's was ambrosia of the gods. My kids would blow their paper route money on penny candy from the Pfaff's candy counter. Then it closed and now it's something else. 

You can't get ice cream cone for under $4 anymore. But times change and prices with it. The newspaper the kids carried is pretty much done. The kids moved on and have families of their own. But we all still enjoy a walk on the boardwalk and an ice cream of a summer evening. I hope that never goes away.