Monday, September 9, 2013

Nostalgic for the 40's

Mom and Dad in the 40's
My favorite era is the 40's. You might say I was brainwashed as a child by my mother whose teen years encompassed that era. Mom knew how to weave a story. I could sit for hours and listen to her tales of her most impressionable years. She can remember WWII but through her eyes it was Victory Gardens, handsome sailors, movies that glamorized the war and songs I can still remember enough to sing a verse or two.

By the time she reached her teen years, her father had stopped moving around so much and settled in Phoenix. Until then, she'd hopped freight trains with him, slept in hobo jungles and spent some wonderful months on relatives' farms in California. The stories she could tell! And still does.

Movies were big for Mom. Growing up, my sister and I would watch all the old movies with her on the Saturday afternoon matinee. They were new to us but Mom could sing along with all those old musicals. Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Gene Kelly, Carmen Miranda, Bing Crosby and the list goes on. Then there was Ava Gardner, Spencer Tracy, Lana Turner, Grace Kelly, Tyrone Power, John Wayne...oh, jeez, make me stop.

When I think nostalgic, roots and family traditions, I tend to go clear back to my childhood and my fascination with my mom's childhood. Between that and learning today that Amazon seems to have goofed and priced my 1945 historical really low, it led me to revisit what inspired me to write Honey On White Bread. It was my mom, all the way. Some times, real family stories are more interesting than fiction!

In case you'd like to take advantage of Amazon's crazy price, the link is below. The paperback is priced lower than the eBook and I'm not sure how long this will last.
http://tinyurl.com/6na585l


Visit Brenda at www.brendawhiteside.com.
She blogs on the 9th and 24th of every month at http://rosesofprose.blogspot.com
She blogs about prairie life and writing at http://brendawhiteside.blogspot.com/

3 comments:

Jannine Gallant said...

It's a wonderful book, Brenda. All the fascination with your mother's stories is written into every word.

Margo Hoornstra said...

Your mother's childhood sounds like it was incredibly happy. What great memories.

Brenda Whiteside said...

Thanks, you all. She certainly didn't have a typical life.