Monday, October 17, 2011

Some good news and history

I had a busy weekend. Well, first, let me impart some great information. I was really struggling with edits lately, but finished round #2 last week only to receive news from my editor that we're close to being done. Shocker! I guess I thought I'd be editing for the rest of my life. Part of me is excited, the other part relieved, another part is freaking out. My mind goes back to the early days of The Soul Seekers and all the innocent hope I had for an idea to some day come true. I've learned so much during the process--and you know it's all about the journey, it really is.

Okay, so this weekend my wonderful friend Marshall Rimann invited me to come sing at a Ripple Glass recycling event at one of his stores. A local radio station was there (96.5 The Buzz), and it was truly a gorgeous day outside. Here's a picture from the event (hint, I'm the Amazonian lady):



The other good news is that my album is at the duplicating house, and should be delivered sometime within the next week or so. That's another unbelievable feat, as it seems like the finish line for Meadowland kept moving and moving until I honestly wondered if things were going to work out. Well, they are, and I'm very happy about it. Hard to describe how I feel. I think of Stevie Nicks and Dusty Springfield; Christine McVeigh, Joni Mitchell, Lucinda Williams, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn--these are people I idolize and if I can represent them even one little bit, then I've done my job.

Okay, so this a long post, but yesterday I took some pictures of my hometown Spring Hill, Ks because I was feeling nostalgic, and here they are.

West side of Main Street





The front entrance to the library my mother worked at. It was very small, just two walls of books and maybe some paperback racks. I'd walk here after school almost every day, and spend most of my summer reading at one of the tables.


Looking south.

Electric, but still holds a charm of the Old West.
Library door again. How symbolic that sign is.
The library is behind that one way sign. Brownie's Barbershop is next door.
The Hardware Store
Gas station, car shop

The drugstore. They had candy, perfume, jewelry, soda, and drugs (the legal kind).
Nothing like a tall bottle of soda from one of the machines outside one of these stores.




Decaying building
Brownie's Barbershop. He'd always cut his finger and would stop to get a bandaid!
The old bank on the corner. Legend says it was robbed twice in its early days. Both times the robbers were caught, shot, and buried in the local graveyard.


And that's it. That's my childhood. It takes just a few seconds to drive through the old Main Street. It seemed a lot bigger when I was young . . .

Happy Monday everyone. Take care!

13 comments:

  1. So pleased Meadowland is on its way! :o)

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  2. Congrats on Meadowland and thanks for the tour

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  3. This is some good news for a Monday! Where is Spring Hill? I've read your ms and it looks very much like the town you describe!

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  4. Hehe, yes, I mirrored my childhood a bit! The town in my book is a split between Spring Hill and a town in Southern Indiana . . . and my imagination.

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  5. That place looks so peaceful and quiet.

    Sounds like you've got a lot of wonderful projects nearing completion - very satisfying...

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  6. Chris- I look at the town now in much the way you are. For many years I had a lot of bitterness, especially concerning high school, but now it's all blending into nostalgia. I really do love the town and have a curiosity about it, wishing that I could go inside all those shops and houses.

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  7. What a wonderful post, Amy - and what an amazing town to grow up in. It's straight from my childhood imagination of the West. What an amazing time to be in for you too - all so exciting. AND you are a tall lady (or the others are midgets). What more could you ask for? (I know...)

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  8. I'm glad you enjoyed it Tom. I found a site that has archived photos of these buildings, and I'll try to post those tomorrow. Pretty interesting to find out the history of some of these places.

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  9. Brilliant - double wammy. Amy I'm so pleased for you. Thank you for taking us on a virtual walk through Spring Hill - bringing alive all the places in your book xxx

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  10. Thanks for all the kind support Molly!

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  11. Well done Amy...it's all coming together. Spring Hill looks to me like an updated cowboy town. But where are all the people, and the cars, and the Indians?

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  12. Amy, I love your pictures. The sky is the background is magnificent.

    Like Cro said, where are all the people?

    Please let us know when your album is out. I would love to purchase one. It sounds like my kind of music.

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