Lately, my past is catching up to me. No matter how hard I try to hide, fate has a way of bashing down the door and smacking me on the face....whack whack....then thumping me on the nose for good measure.

My fate is to write.

Even when I don't feel like it or even know what to write.

To wit, I googled myself and saw all the pages of stories, poems and essays that I have written in the past and just knew that I was going to have to come out of my self-imposed exile and just "do it"!

So here I am. Without much to say, but babbling it anyway.

I used to think that having a southern heritage was something to be extremely proud of, that no one else would understand the southern family dynamics, that no one else would have the same kind of stories to tell.

Flannery O'Conner once said, "Whenever I'm asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it is because we are still able to recognize one."

Is this because southerners are freaks?

No, but my in-laws might think otherwise.

I believe it is because the sweltering heat down there messes with your brain, making you do things and say things you might not ordinarily. So, in a way we might be freaks, but I'll tell you one thing; there are a lot of freaks up here in the northern mid-west as well. You just don't hear about them as much.

I also believe that most southerners want to be in the spotlight. After losing to the North, y'all know what I'm talking about, maybe one of the only ways to show they were still here, still alive, was to create this persona of a gentile, yet quite batty, people, and then write about them.

"What has always been clear, for Southerner and non-Southerner alike, is that Dixie is the most fascinating part of the country. There may be a book out there called 'The Great Midwest' or 'A Turn in the Midwest' or 'The Mind of the Midwest' or 'The Midwestern Mystique', but if there is I'm certainly not aware of it."

--Fred Hobson

So, I'll be content to carry on the tradition. I'll write about my family's history, maybe add some northern bits and pieces to the batter, and hopefully bake a nice literary cake.

In between, you can find me over on Facebook. I'm addicted, don't you know? In fact, I wrote a little poem about my addiction...

Facebook, oh Facebook
why must you be
so danged addictive
with all this social repartee?

The games and quizes are
offered up like a buffet,
so many friends of old
stopping by to say "Hey!"

Farmtown and Yoville,
Bejeweled and Farkle,
Mafia Wars and Superpoke Pets,
make my life sparkle.

Facebook, Dear Facebook
you've made my life grand,
and if anyone tries to bother me
they can talk to the hand!

© 2009 Dana Sieben

Today my oldest son told me to get off my butt and get to writing again.


He's right. I have been neglecting my blog and my poetry. Now that school is out, I do have the time for it, but finding something to write about is a different matter.


Lots has happened in the past few months:

a good friend passed away from colon cancer and I walked a 5k in her memory. It was at Lincoln Park in Chicago.


I quit my job as school librarian and the boys will be attending public school instead of Catholic school for the first time.


I am still making jewelry. Just posted some new pieces today. Check them out @ Colors of the Woods!

I am addicted to facebook. I have found so many old friends there and considering that it has been 20 years since a lot of us opened the Disney MGM Studios, a reunion was planned for this weekend. Can't go though and I am bummed about it.

Anyway, I'll be back more often with more to enjoy, so check back.

Toodles!

I had the pleasure of watching the Inauguration of President Obama this morning and I have to say it was inspiring. We've come a long way, America! Let's keep going in the right direction.

Glitter Text Maker

You know, on days like this, I really wish I didn't live in Chicago. (I swear this isn't whiney blogging)

My father was chatting with me on the phone yesterday and he was saying how cold it was down there in Alabama. About how it was probably as cold as up here. How he was shivering in the 39 degree weather.

I probably would have said something to that effect if I had been still living in Alabama. Your blood is thinner down there and anything below 60 degrees is considered winter.

But not yesterday, Dad.

We are under a Blizzard Advisory for tomorrow and we are expecting even more snow on top of what we already have. It's a whopping 12 degrees out with a wind chill of who knows. And that's warm! Tomorrow is going to be colder.

But at least I don't live where my friend, Jen lives. She lives up in British Columbia, Canada where it drops down to -40 degrees in the daytime.

Bless her heart.