Thursday, March 28, 2013



Great Great Uncle John...


A few years ago my parents downsized and mom gave me two small drawers filled with what I thought was just costume jewelry.  Sometime later I went through the box and found in the very bottom a typed letter from my Great Great Uncle John.  It was written to his siblings.  The date on the letter was July 14, 1918 and he typed on the top right hand corner "Somewhere in France".  

John H. Ale was 1st Lieutenant in the 355th Infantry.   I am attempting to research all the abbreviations on the envelope to track down other historical connections to him so I can gather more about what his experiences might have been.  Anyway, he said in this letter that he "writes seven or eight letters ever (sic) week"...and "is looking for one from you, hope I won't be disappointed."

Aside from the age of this letter, it reminds me that someone in my heritage was also a persistent writer and he too cared deeply for a response.  I'll be passing on this letter to future generations so they can keep the tradition going. 


Friday, March 22, 2013

Intro

Intro to Joy (or Joy Is In It...)

I love to write.  I've written personal travel journals; daily thoughts to my grandson; and letters to pen pals, childhood friends and family members. Over the last couple of years I even started writing some prayers.  

Writing for me is a way of keeping in touch with loved ones. It keeps our conversations going.  It records something that I know will soon be forgotten.  It also relaxes me.  One other great aspect of writing to others is the anticipation of their response. 

Unlike some celebrities who produced a book of their letters or thoughts, I'm pretty certain my recorded thoughts or correspondence of the past have never been retained by anyone.  That's OK.  That's not important to me.  I'm not selling anything. I don't want a million readers.  I just want to share what is on my mind with my family and friends.

This is my first blog.  I plan on writing here about the things that make me happy.  My middle name is Joy (thus the name for this blog) and I'll be writing more later.