Category: indiana
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Remembering Susie
Obituary originally posted here. Photo slideshow: https://www.tributeslides.com/embed/CFSIFRAM/dem10727/11m61217470d60e0 Obituary May 14, 1946 ~ August 6, 2021 (age 75) Susie Elizabeth Duncan Sexton, 75, of Columbia City, IN, passed away unexpectedly Friday, August 6, 2021, at her home. Born on May 14, 1946, in Fort Wayne, she was the daughter of Roy and Edna (Lewis) Duncan, who, in her words,…
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In a Sense…a Broad!
As I consider myself nothing nor nobody more than Peter Sellers in Being There or at my liveliest as Inspector Clousseau, it is difficult to make “Susie” sound interesting? I am proudest of being the Mother of Roy, whom I consider the person I would most wish to be. I grew up in a very…
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Secrets of an Old Typewriter Press Release – Picked Up by Talk of the Town
Press release for Secrets of an Old Typewriter picked up by Talk of the Town! Here is the link… Columbia City’s Susie Duncan Sexton, a Talk of the Town columnist and new author of “Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy Small Town Girl,” recounts with humor, verve and insight decades…
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First Review!
From Myrna Bailey: “Susie, I just finished reading your book [‘Secrets of an Old Typewriter’] and it was delightful. I loved reading about all the Columbia City people, most of whom I know. Ralph was pleased that you mentioned his name in it :). Looking forward to your next one. Love, Myrna” Thanks, Myrna!! My…
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beyond all sense of reason…
oh, dear…archery prowess encouraged in “youngsters” and thus the youth were prepared for the opening of deer killing season today? (deer flushed out onto roads and highways as a result.) how sad for all involved. safety seminars conducted so that “everyone” involved will not be harmed? huh? turkeys, flying fowl also scheduled for official killing…
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Blue Bell Memories
rom the Secret Columbia City page on Facebook… Sue Eberhard Kobuki: “Does anyone remember the Blue Bell factory? I worked there during the summer to earn money for my first car.” Thomas Steiner: “Yes, I sure do remember the Blue Bell factory.” Annette Melvin: “My Dad used to work there.” Vicki Meier Bigger: “Started working…
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Donald O’Donovan Reviews Secrets of an Old Typewriter
Donald O’Donovan, author of the novels Night Train, Tarantula Woman, & the upcoming Highway, reviews Secrets of an Old Typewriter. Spectacular review! Can be found at the book’s page on Amazon.com here… Here is the full text of the review: Ride on the float in the homecoming parade. Be the homecoming queen. Order a chocolate shake…
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Follow-up to Indiana government officials on deer culling initiative (2011)
received a generated reply from Shelley Reeves and here is my reply…(and are you aware of the Albion Chain o’ lakes fatality this past week….a buck defending itself from a gunshot, premature dressing and then stabbing may have gored the “hunter” who is now dead…can be read in HUFFINGTON POST here). below is my response to…
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deer…the most dangerous animal alive?!?!
hateful, duplicitous, double-talking, snake-oil salesman letter in our little local paper today urging year-round deer hunting cuz “deers are the most dangerous animals alive” from a doc who says why pay the price of even one human life of a driver in a car getting killed…cuz his own cars get dented? we have had bizarre…
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“Secrets of an Old Typewriter” by Susie Duncan Sexton featured in the November ’11 issue of “Ball State Alumnus” magazine
View the piece here… “Secrets of an Old Typewriter” by Susie Duncan Sexton as featured in the November ’11 issue of “Ball State Alumnus” magazine. The complete issue can be found at this link… The note reads, “Susan E. (Duncan) Sexton, ’68, Columbia City, Ind., authored ‘Secrets of an Old Typewriter: Stories from a Smart and Sassy…
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I shall never stop
I am a hoosier and i have battled deer murders in this backward state forever now…and the stubborn nature of folks shuts my mouth and ignores my mind and stomps on my heart at every turn. but i continue because i have yet to suffer the indignities and horrors that these poor purposely over-bred gentle…
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that is a brave move. 2012.
so the hoosier state plans to ban smoking except in bars and casinos? alcoholism and gambling are fine and dandy? and devouring mammals (in those same eating establishments) which causes breast, colon and prostate cancer is hunky dory? not to mention ingesting flesh and organs causing diabetes and parkinson’s disease? chow down…but first watch the…
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To whom it may concern… 2012
How and why and under what circumstances has the slaughter of sentient beings to save plants and trees become acceptable to civilized human beings? Rationalizations for this mass killing boggle the thinking mind. Awareness of this deer culling demands urging that this violence cease wherever it is being perpetrated — in this circumstance and elsewhere…
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have you ever tried to discuss ideas with a politician?
have you ever tried to discuss ideas with a “politician”? impossible…all they want are donations…well, send your donations to homeless cats and dogs and organizations working to end the slaughter of animals instead. forget donations to politicos…they use that cash to get a cushy job and forget all about the poor and the suffering and…
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yes…they DO deserve better…
I received an email today from Thomas C. Kiernan, president of the National Parks Conservation Association, with the subject line: “They Deserve Better.” He writes (the letter was a formatted eblast with photos, links, etc.): “Dear Susie, I urgently need your help to ensure Congress makes critical investments in our national parks . . . to…
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i am quite overbooked…
Thoughts from a cold Saturday morning in November… just watched four people seeming to speak greek about marketing books. did not understand one word except for an author who seemed to lament the e-book rage and he was very young, too. he fears that humans will not accidentally discover those magical books they never would…
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Open Letter: REGARDING THE DEER CULLING… 2012
REGARDING THE DEER CULLING SCHEDULED FOR NOV. 13, 14, 26 and 27, maligning our state’s parks’ system (read the story by clicking here): This truly needs to be stopped. We do believe fewer “state parks” are participating in this “operation” this year–we did our best last “season” to protest. We literally cannot believe this horror is allowed,…
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Try to learn something…
“Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” – T. H. Huxley, English biologist and author (1825-1895) I JUST WANT TO DIE HALF THE TIME…i actually picked up the phone and straightened out a deer biologist with our state DNR and barely allowed him to offer up lame excuses for murdering deer in…
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my photograph is NOT something i like seeing everyday…
i used to feature homeless dogs and cats and all animals all the time via my profile pics on facebook…gotta get back to that…my photograph is NOT something i like seeing everyday…and besides i am not a jailed orphan, yet. i do have a home and warmth and food and security sorta? i want all…
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…thanks for letting me vent
interesting to watch how the media, also dependent on kissing the fannies of the rich, have been instructed to play up “mental illness” rather than pointing to the NRA which is seeing to it that they remain the chief lobby of all time…so this current holocaust will end up not being blamed on guns and…
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the centre cannot hold…
i have always loved the poem below…well, since college days…speaks to me…very quotable…sort of puzzling…full of promise…yet very frightening. i agonize over its meaning…but yeats created a beauty with this verse!!! Turning and turning in the widening gyreThe falcon cannot hear the falconer;Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,The…
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Glo Magazine reviews Secrets of an Old Typewriter
Check out Glo Magazine’s review of Secrets of an Old Typewriter at this link (page 24) – click here. Review by Davina Black: “Local author alert! Susie Duncan Sexton of Columbia City writes about animal rights and being raised as a Hoosier, among other things. Her sweet stories refer to some of our favorite Indiana hotspots and her…
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History bears repeating…video histories of Susie Duncan Sexton and Roy Sexton
from Columbia City’s Peabody Library website – two video histories, one of me and one of my son Roy…thanks to Deb Lowrance and the library for the opportunity! Descriptions and links below… Susie Sexton‘s father, Roy Duncan, was in charge of the Columbia City Blue Bell factory for many years. Susie herself grew up in…
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i try to be nice…
“I love people and animals — though not necessarily in that order,” Doris Day once said. “I’ve never met an animal I didn’t like, and I can’t say the same thing about people.” i can barely even look at people some days…too many self-centered, clueless turds…i try to be nice…but the older i get the…
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time to reinvent farm LIFE! oppose SB 373 (2013)
very important story on yahoo! about your rights to know how animals are treated in the farming/food “industry”…click here to read… Animal welfare advocates say all of the focus on secrecy is energy misspent. “I wish the cattlemen actually wanted to stop cruelty, not the documenting of cruelty,” said HSUS California director Jennifer Fearing. “One could think of a…
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your vote reveals your heart and your intelligence: Indiana’s Ag-Gag Bill (2013)
Ah, the wonders of communication..by PHONE! Just spoke with Hoosier folks who’ll convey my message of concern regarding today’s “conference” status of S.B. 373, the “Ag-Gag” Bill! They listened patiently and will convey my thoughts to four Republicans: Governor Mike Pence (got his voice-mail!); Senator Jim Banks; and Representatives Kathy Heuer and Dan Leonard. I pray that human health,…
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…I use it as motivation.
the problem with our current state legislature is that too many conservative (hardly!) republicans are in the pocket of corporate America which includes the farming INDUSTRY…and that they always vote along party lines…check their voting records… the majority in the house and senate cares not about animals…animals do not have country club memberships or provide…
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Letter to the editor: Pig wrestling, anyone? No, we will opt out
Letter to the editor from me to the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel – click here to view the original post… In spite of reading three glowing articles in our local newspaper this week, so far, emphasizing the joys of pig wrestling, we decided not to wrestle pigs in the mud on July 16 in Whitley County no matter…
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Other Nations: “Pig wrestling – Small injustices enable larger ones”
I cannot begin to tell you how honored I am to be included in Kathleen Stachowski’s incredible “Other Nations” blog. You can read it by clicking here. Here’s an excerpt… So, to Susie and to all of you who speak out, put your name on the line, and break the silence–even when you’re likely to be the…
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crash the party! (2013)
In response to the article “21 state parks to close for deer hunts”… do we not pay taxes to support these parks? I really wish this posturing would stop….so lucrative for the state of Indiana…multi-millions cross palms and more DNR employees (nepotism?) added to the payroll… many spins offered for why this is staged every fall…usually…
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Culture and food and sports and heritage…oh my! (2013)
Enjoy this video from the recent Allen County Public Library Authors Fair featuring yours truly as well as Mark Carboni, Blake Sebring, and Ralph Garcia – the panel topic is non-fiction writing from these authors who specialize in culture, food, sports, and heritage respectively. Great fun! Watch at this link: http://afw.pegcentral.com/player.php?… And read about the event…
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golly! I am dead serious.
In response to this New Yorker article – click here – on pig-farming in my home state (and China?!?)…just down the road from where we live … this article is beautifully written…i read it loud to some folks tonight…I believe this intelligent writer thinks that these people here in Indiana are not only greedy but also quite nuts and…
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welcome to circus world! (2013)
YES…WE PROMISE! evolution means humans are getting brighter and more inclusive and more peaceful…it’s the politicians who think only of themselves! and the people benefitting from corporate greed. otherwise the rest of us are kind and normal and forward thinking! right? HOWEVER, click here to read rationalizations … in Indiana! again. from botched education to lucrative faux…
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brains washed and dried and starched and ironed: Indiana ag gag
lots of us in Indiana are concerned about these sweet beings and sick and tired of their victimization for insane profits in this state — generated by collusion with CHINA! the ag-gag bill has been revisited and the republican legislators are not happy with those who oppose it and who are testifying presently…the senators are behaving quite rudely and…
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blood-letting is blood-letting. all sentient beings matter.
so, too many republican hoosier state legislators insist they want voters to decide issues? really? why would that be when those very legislators are interested in lining their own pockets and dream up legislation that would please specifically the “big money” interests? over and over and over again…let’s start with canned hunting for instance…not to mention their…
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A WILD AND WOOLLY AND COMFORTING AND HARROWING AND CHECKERED AND HILARIOUS AND ULCER-PRODUCING AND EXORCISING AND CATHARTIC RIDE AND A HALF
“Compassion for animals is intimately connected with goodness of character, and it may be confidently asserted that he who is cruel to animals cannot be a good man.” ~ Arthur Schopenhauer i wrote to indiana’s sen. donnelly…a very long treatise…and got his explanation/rationalization for mass buffalo killing? from a democrat? from a liberal? and it…
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the white sheep aren’t as white as they appear…
“I may be the black sheep of the family, but some of the white sheep aren’t as white as they appear…” thanks to Black Pine Animal Sanctuary and to Indiana Pig Save for the timely sharing of my letter from last year “Pig wrestling, anyone? No, we will opt out.” the letter appeared in media throughout the State of Indiana…
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what a crock of ____ we are constantly handed
so sad that indiana is breeding pigs like mad for slaughter and for exporting to china and for mining parts for human beings who need new knees to play more golf…. so purdue issues a rationale for murdering deer families in state parks again this killing season…in july the newspapers publish way ahead of time so that…
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So honored to be featured on the TV show Patty’s Page
Enjoy this interview of yours truly on lovely Patty Hunter’s Fort Wayne-based talk show Patty’s Page. View at this link:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TA_zB… We candidly discuss the experiences of growing up in small-town Columbia City, the high and lows and the delights and frustrations of writing columns and books, my love of animals and movies and fun, the importance…
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He prayeth well, who loveth well.
save Indiana from being sold off for greed… senate panel considers banning local limits on factory farms obviously republicans care neither about human nor animal welfare…protest this effort…no matter what party you are affiliated with…do not let human greed destroy our state…do not be fooled by these efforts…this is blood money…this is a horror…this is terrorism…even…
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Time to say “NO MORE” mean and stupid behavior: Otter hunting ok’d in Indiana. 2015.
Oh, Calgon…or SOMETHING…take me away! From this ingrown state!!! (I need to go live in my son’s basement.) Indiana tentatively OKs limited river otter trapping season So we are on board yet again to slaughter (squirrels and) river otters for their…PELTS???? The weirdest most illogical statement ever…”Many other states that have reintroduced otters have implemented…
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Where is Jay Leno when we need him? Three stories
Thanks to fellow author and animal lover Jim Robertson for reblogging my piece, which follows, to his Exposing the Big Game … 1) Unlikely friendship of a dog and an owl … Okay! So, why can’t humans simmer down and be nice and stop eating other species? AND stop warring with one another? AND stop worrying and start being…
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And nobody ain’t sayin’ nothin’! How our mistreatment of the environment is killing us all
I was just thinking about the part climate change plays in our lives, and the role the agriculture industry has played in ruining the ecology. If I hear about one more person with a mystery affliction in our local area 10 miles from one of the hugest pig “industries” in this nation, I am tapping…
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Try to remember exactly WHO made us this week’s national laughing stock (2015)
I love protesting to restore love and compassion. We ain’t called the “hurryin’ hoosiers” for no reason. Doing damage control for our beloved state that used to be sweet and is gonna return to that kindness, after a few misguided careerist politicos get voted outta office (even some who have been near and dear and are now…
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Enough already. #Indiana, simmer down.
So religious freedom means freedom to discriminate and behave like jerks? And infringe upon the freedoms of everyone else? C.P. pastor protesting changes to ‘religious freedom’ law : Politics Enough already. Indiana, simmer down. Nobody is screwing with your church clubs. Party all you want. Network with like-minded souls. Massage each other’s shoulders. But watch…
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4-H Values NOT reflected in pig-wrestling – Whitley County, Indiana (from 2015)
Proud of my husband Don for this letter to the editor, regarding the upcoming pig wrestling (!) event at our local 4-H Fair this summer. So ashamed that such a cruel activity involving children and animals is occurring in this town where I grew up and still live. Unreal. This just in! Someone has started…
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Centuries of yesterdays have come and gone
Click here for little Magoa who desperately needs a rescuer. What a doll. The folks who kill these precious souls hopefully toss and turn at night. This is America; we are not Romania nor Russia. NOKILL should be the immediate plan on which we are all working…and yesterday!!!!!! And how about Frida here – please click share and help…
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So is the local running of the bulls still on? (from 2015)
So is the local running of the bulls still on? Whitley County – PLEASE CANCEL all future pig wrestling events. Disgusted that no city fathers or mothers have stepped up to condemn pig wrestling. Had just one done that, we would not be hosting such an atrocity. Again…for is it four years in a row…
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Thanks to those who never wavered for a second and never will — how impressive you are.
This pig wrestling escapade was truly the oddest experience of my lifetime. I shall never be the same, and I do not even know what to think. Totally exhausted beyond measure. Grateful for those who came through for another species and gladly overwhelmed by the unqualified support from so many. Disillusioned with the status quo…speechless…
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Where is Erin Brockovich when we need her?
Having been overloaded with grief and sadness as to lack of humane treatment provided for — and victimization of — other species as well as startled at a barrage of cruel and hurtful words aimed at innocents, I remembered my friendship with ELIZABETH LEAN and her work to nurture animals at death’s door and to…
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Patty’s Page TV interview: politics, small-town living, animal rights, writing, and other insights and adventure
And now for part two! Enjoy the second half of my two-part interview with charming Patty Hunter on her Patty’s Page TV program. Also on the show are journalist and advocate Terry Doran and my husband Don Sexton. A thoughtful and erudite conversation (if I do say so myself!) about politics, small-town living, animal rights,…
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Soldier on, folks! Soldier on! #Indiana’s “Canned Hunting” Bill. 2016.
From Marian Patience Harvey: “FENCED HUNTING PASSED INDIANA SENATE (Senate Bill 109). Please call Governor Pence at 317-232-4567, and ask him to VETO this Bill! Includes Deer, Sheep and Goats. Ask for an ENFORCED BAN!!! Just heard that it passed Senate on NPR…..please call…..once these facilities are legalized, Deer become livestock…and Big Ag wins again.” While…
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Retrospection can hurt like hell sometimes.
Wondering WHY during all of these jamborees of politicians flooding our TV screens…and jabberjawing media chatterbugs interrupting one another…that NOBODY mentions the importance of the animal kingdom. That is when true peace would start. That is when all violence could end. All LIFE matters. Humans are just another species…a species who should know better than…
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Sad I am? Ha!
I do not LIKE “green eggs and ham” nor… computers…nor LinkedIn…nor pop-ups…nor naysayers…nor politics…nor some pundits…nor that OTHER party. Dr. Seuss, I miss you. Kurt Vonnegut, I miss you, too! And so it goes. Thinking of you both and trying to see the humor in this confused and confusing messed up world! Sad I am?…
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Mike Pence, you are no poet! 2016 edition.
HOLY MOSES…Mike Pence, you are NO poet: “In our state, we coined a phrase, ‘Good fences make good neighbors!’” Guess what? Robert Frost just called and owns that sentence and wants it back to complete his famous poem “Mending Wall”! Read it for the true meaning if for no other reason? Your defense of the Donald makes me…
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Color me honored! My selfie with Mr. Alan Cumming
Color me honored! I am one of the rare folks with whom Mr. Cumming has chosen to take a selfie. He has exacting standards, y’know: “I love a selfie, and I do take selfies with people a lot, but sometimes I don’t want to,” said Cumming. “I think it’s an interesting thing: We all have…
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I wish I could have graduated high school early … at age 6!
What a lovely note and photo I received this week from my buddy Jan Morsches … always nice to get surprises like this! Bobby Morsches is the “date” and my mom made the dress! We were at the American Legion building at the 1952 prom. I must have been 6 on my way to other…
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Pippin (revival tour) at Fort Wayne’s Historic Embassy Theatre
Originally appeared on my son Roy Sexton’s blog Reel Roy Reviews … oh, god! PIPPIN [the Broadway touring production stopped at Fort Wayne, Indiana’s Historic Embassy Theatre last night] was glorious! were extensive acrobatics part of original? and I hate gymnastics…but this was done in a completely acceptable, credible, amazing manner–trapezes and stuff like that…wondering if there…
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“We have met the enemy and he is us.” My world. As I see it.
I saw my motion light go on a couple of months ago and wondered if I needed to save a cat? I prowled around on the porch and came face to face with a huge opossum climbing into a pillowed porch chair. I left him/her alone! I go nowhere ever? Ah, well! Facebook is my…
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That successful effort certainly shines forth as the highlight of my high school days. “Bye Bye Birdie” in Columbia City
“That successful effort certainly shines forth as the highlight of my high school days.” – yours truly about playing Rose in “Bye Bye Birdie” in 1964, the first musical performed in Columbia City High School’s Newell Rice Auditorium. 55 years later, Columbia City High School brings “Bye Bye Birdie” back to the CCHS stage this…
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A modest proposal: northeast Indiana Covid edition
With business as usual in the GOP Hoosier state, 4-H fairs and beauty pageants are still scheduled, and the number of Covid-19 (now Covid-20) infections and death rates rise. Combining national news with global pandemic information and a now single weekly issue of local newspapers, surprising information awaits to be read and watched and listened…
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Happy New Year.
This nostalgic professionally photographed family picture boggles my mind. What a serene looking group. Why did this attractive couple have one more kid? Me? Often told by a sibling, to avoid induction into World War II, BUT the war was over…sorta? I, referred to as the “black sheep” later by a nephew, (who is almost…
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please reTHINK?
Open Letter: REGARDING THE DEER CULLING… REGARDING THE DEER CULLING SCHEDULED FOR NOV. 13, 14, 26 and 27, maligning our state’s parks’ system (read the story by clicking here): This truly needs to be stopped. We do believe fewer “state parks” are participating in this “operation” this year–we did our best last “season” to protest.…
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OH, DEAR!
Hosea 2:18 : “And in that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: And I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to…
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“Here I Do Be With Hat in Hand” – An Ode to the Campaign
a poem???? here i do be with hat in hand… imploring that you understand…. that for some unknown patriotic reason… hubby wishes to become a small town mayor for a season. he loves all people everywhere… me? for animals i mostly care. he’s a conservative republican cat… i’m a progressive, free-thinking democrat…. stop by this…
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FOLDING NEWSPAPERS–Pulp Fiction OR Reality?
Why are newspapers reducing the voice of the people to American Idol status, with SIMON Legree types comfortably yet precariously poised at the top kowtowing to whichever side provides the most revenue while encouraging on-lookers via sophomoric surveys to hoist thumbs up or down? BTW, don’t forget to pre-pay for your obituary. Our currently raw wound of a…
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Waiting to Exhale
Home-town hypocrisy, within my Hoosier state, daily reaches ever higher levels so severe as to be indigestible. Folks impersonate soldiers renamed oxymoronic “prayer warriors”. When refraining from pretentious extolling of mysterious galaxies of heavens or hells as well as of famed halls of gods or goddesses, consider yourself outside the loop or sphere of influence. An individual thinker is either misunderstood or downright condemned. Third world, primitive…
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COLOR MY WORLD? Please Don’t.
Michael Moore’s most recent film, CAPITALISM: A LOVE STORY, successfully informed, enlightened, provoked debate and promoted his own brand of propaganda. Currently, assuming a solitary, independent-minded and thoughtful stance, whether on film or via broadcasting or in print, conjures up the obsolete, extinct DODO bird. Impressions gained through living life, and rubbing shoulders with others, are colored by biases which stick to us on this journey. We…
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Climbing Jacob’s Letter — whoa there now!
To Dear Jacob from Dear Susie: (neither of us shooting the messenger I hope.) Your beautiful name filled with Biblical allusions running the gamut from purchase of brother Esau’s birthright to synonymy with ” Israel “? Well, be advised that “Susie” Is Hebrew-originated also. Thus, our Judeo-names, selected by our parents, place us squarely upon…
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Diminishing Fervor
Jesus of Nazareth –one of the original free thinkers. People, particularly Americans, seem to have forgotten that important fact. Christ, the rebel and iconoclast, questioned authority and practiced inclusion of all while embracing those most marginalized. Christianity’s currently documented loss of momentum, as well as dwindling church membership, potentially may reverse if historical, geographical, literary,…
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Angels Among Us
Returned from a divine lesson in human resiliency, a lesson which occurred at our truly friendly and fun RICHARD’S RESTAURANT–neither a planned seminar nor a church service, simply diners and staff chatting, most listening intently. An upbeat couple, routinely spreading cheer on a daily basis, shared their experiences combating an unwelcome challenge from a fleeting,…
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What good are ‘railroads’ without engineers?
Granted, I do not understand grants. This robbing of Peter to pay Paul circular activity gains a sterling reputation certainly among grant-writers, whose audiences consist of tax-payers who have evidently contributed enough revenue that sums lay within treasure chests all across the land, just waiting for extraction–our money–from us! According to a city councilman Tuesday…
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North Carolinians and Indianans share a chance to make or break history
A Hoosier’s advice to Tarheels during Race ’08: Truman and “Ike” introduced a large portion of us “boomers” to the political world of spirited competitions in hot pursuit of the White House. One “last hurrah” arrives via this present phenomenal contest for the Democratic presidential nomination. Such tremendous and obvious excitement permeates the land! Though…
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Susie, In a Sense…a Broad!
As I consider myself nothing nor nobody more than Peter Sellers in Being There or at my liveliest as Inspector Clousseau, it is difficult to make “Susie” sound interesting? I am proudest of being the Mother of Roy, whom I consider the person I would most wish to be. I grew up in a very…
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SO, TELL US, WHAT ELSE IS NEW?
Youthful indiscretions? Oh, so many! I recall co-starring in STOP THE WORLD–I WANT TO GET OFF while in my twenties. I portrayed the long-suffering wife, as well as multiple mistresses, of a philandering, self-obsessed politician, and the two of us sang to each other for two and 1/2 hours. My ambitious husband, Mr. Littlechap of…
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Does ANYBODY Ever Feel Our Pain?
Feel a song coming on! OR a fable, parable, fairy tale…since I don’t wish to injure anybody’s feelings. Allow me to illuminate a local problem, perhaps a universal one. This is a story of two councils as well as of some sorts who opine that it might be “good to be (Mel Brooksian) king”. It’s…
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Slam Bam?
Slam Bam? No, thank you! Actually, our young president deserves admiration occasionally. I recall my genuine, though short-lived, marvel and eagerly anticipated satisfaction in three areas: his initial firm stances on–shirking blind-faithed, regimented, patriotic displays of reverence which would have served only for crowd-pleasing “show”; clinging to his respect for a truth-telling preacher; and recognizing…
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I WONDER
Once upon a time, small town newspaper editor Hester Adams published my positive yet refreshingly anticipatory teen-aged poem extolling the virtues of Christmas circa 1960. Annually, somewhat tediously, Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL, in myriad formats, reminds us to set aside bitterness and past injustices while reaching out to our fellow-men. Perry Como crooned, perkily…
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Rat Packs, Hoosier Lobbyists, & Blind Boys!
True, I seem to qualify as a participant in a “clique” of folks a bit more advanced in age, experience and hard-won wisdom…who also specialize in nostalgic FUN! For instance, classmate Dr. Harry Staley notified me that he often accompanied his dad after sunset to assist in repairing the Blue Bell factory’s countless sewing machines. Don York shared that Harry’s dad, Harry, Sr.,…
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THE GAME OF LIFE? NO CONTEST! My Attempt at CATharsis — Meow! =^..^=
“Gentlemen, start your engines!” Seriously, if I qualified as a gentleman, I would refuse to start my engine. Not unlike Marlon Brando, George C. Scott, Katharine Hepburn, or Sacheen Littlefeather, with regard to races and/or contests and/or competitions, I am a non-believer. Fighting others to win laurels is an unattractive, pointless endeavor and significant maybe only…
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INTUITION AND INSTINCTS AND BUMBLE BEES! OH, MY!
“What happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep!” ~ current Supreme Court nominee As I lounged sleepily on a lawn chair three summer seasons past, I devoured a ROLLING STONE article about this blondish fellow named Donald Trump, a guy presently stacked in my musty basement, he being featured on umpteen PEOPLE Magazine covers highlighting zippy, scandal-hinting essays…
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TRANSITIONS–“Through the Decades”
Quite like a restless King Tut, I yearned to avoid a rut. Wide-eyed, toured a marketplace so Victorian Everything everywhere, yet no DeLorean! Repurposed bricks, mortar — transformed from Presbyterian church– Its irony hurled me into conflicted “museum” lurch. Realizing tombs, spires, stained glass, pyramids and kitty cats Cannot be “taken with you” unto the great hereafter–(RATS!)…
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A FEW APOLOGIES, SOME “SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDERS”, AND HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
We got married in…a… December Colder than we care to remember! (Apologies to Nancy Sinatra and Lee Greenwood and Johnny Cash and June Carter!) First, a brief backstory highlighting a “Happy 45th Anniversary to Don Sexton” — BTW –whom I married on December 28th, 1968. My mom hexed me with a spell that my own…
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“THE YEARS TEACH MUCH THE DAYS NEVER KNOW.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
Edgar Allan Poe has nothing on me. My severe depression I could maybe downgrade to but a “funk”; however just as the lead singer with Heavy Metal “Iron Maiden” recently penned a new book from the depths of despair forgoing the hunt and peck system and instead scrawling upon yellow legal pads, I likewise someday…
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“FORWARD: USE AS YOU SEE FIT–LOVE YOU!” ~ Roy Sexton’s Email Subject Line!
What follows is the text of my speech from the glorious May 9th grand opening of the Historic Blue Bell Lofts – there were more than a few asides not captured here … for those, go to video! “Four Score and — Five Years Ago”…seems like only yesterday…and we are all still wearing our durable Wrangler…
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STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS TRAPEZOIDAL HAIKU RIFF/RAP
(Impressions of the Season) “The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to … let it rain.” ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Never forget that old adage — April showers bring May flowers!) Spring & Wing Ages & Stages Trampolines & Magazines Nestlings cuddle & Raindrops puddle Bicycles whizzing & Lemonade fizzing (Limericks? Sonnets? …
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CHRISTMAS GIFT! CHRISTMAS GIFT!*
(*title borrowed from a chapter of a “Miss Minerva & William Green Hill” a dear old Southland book my mother once read aloud to me–seems like only yesterday…) Sat straight up in bed…me, the eternal free-lancing archivist…and woke up my slumbering cat friends…hobbled downstairs garbed neither in kerchief nor stocking cap but definitely clad in…
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GOODBYE, GOODBYE, MISTER MASSEY!
“You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.” ~ Abraham Lincoln “Whoopsy daisy!” ~ Bill the Butcher “Strange things are happening!” ~ Red Buttons Attempting to pound out yet another nostalgia column–even when the future…
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“A horse is a horse, of course, of course, And no one can talk to a horse of course?” (A Journey from Competitiveness to Graciousness…and At Long Last, Love!)
“I’d rather have a goddam horse. A horse is at least human for God’s sake.” ~ J. D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye (Editor’s note: Pardon J. D.’s French!) Time to admit the truth. Choosing authorship as a pastime or a passion or a means of making a living is fraught with frustrations such as:…
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SINGING (and sighing) OUT LOUD!
“She is a successful woman…who has a zest for life and a feeling of kinship with all living things…” ~ from Lou Porterfield’s 1956 Scrapbook Uh-huh! To say the least, I wonder why I ever entertained the idea to write out loud…to record my innermost thoughts, to devise plots and characters, to reveal truths, to…
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“The Times They are A-Changin’” — We Can Only Hope!
I love where humans are coming from when intelligence and compassion combine. Intelligence=compassion…the only way to roll! The absolute only way to roll! There are not two sides to animal abuse and an accompanying apathetic approach to such…there is only one…and that is to pursue the correct path throughout our lives. Admittedly, it took me…
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THE SECRET OF CHANGE…
“Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” ~ Abraham Lincoln And so the story goes: as a toddler, I left the party in the living room as I stumbled past all of the clinking cocktail glasses, above my determined gaze, and…
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RUB A DUB DUB…Pitfalls of a Nostalgic Mind-Set
Now, this may not be pretty, but the telling of it is a necessity. Set nowhere at all in California like some Raymond Chandler detective novel to be revived via an atmospheric beach-front film noir hard-boiled crime drama, this piece is happening in Columbia City, the Land-of-a-Very-Few-Choice-Lakes. I am not the first sort of writer…
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SUBMISSION TO “ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS….”
(With an Homage to Cinematic Hitch!) My Wikipedia googling capabilities seem to be on the fritz, Dear Fabled Master Director, thus I’m unable to recall the evening of and the time — registered by the chiming of the old grandfather clock in the corner — for your suspense-inducing broadcasts during television’s Golden Age of perpetual…
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REUNION REVELATIONS
“It’s a shallow life that doesn’t give a person a few scars.” ~ Garrison Keillor Dental floss, Vicks Vaporub applied to both flaky ears, Q-tips, copious facial creams, and tweezers rise rapidly to the top of the list of personal beauty products when tempus fugit(s)! Comfortable yet quasi-tailored clothing — which covers every square inch…
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JONI, I HARDLY KNEW YE…Confessions of a Dormant Hippie!
www.youtube.com is my second home…my escape from the madness of life…a retrieval of song lyrics that inform while simultaneously lightening my soul. Interest is revived in continuing to endure the pitfalls of life. Hoosier author Kurt Vonnegut swore that music all by itself proves the existence of heaven. Despite such photographic YouTube video-clipped time-warped evidence as…
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IN A CIRCLE AROUND MY HOUSE
As I gleefully recall, I honestly believe that Walt Disney’s Cinderella provided my maiden voyage into the wonders of cinema. That event occurred so very many yesterdays ago when American animation would never be surpassed–a uniquely authentic and creative time arguably lost to us in our 21st century. To this moment, whenever our courthouse clock issues forth…
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THIS IS THE LIFE: BLOGS & DOGS!
Attorney and former neighbor Earl Tison, whom I desired to adopt the moment I met him, exclaimed frequently, “Susie, if anybody should start a blog, it would be you!” Computer-less at that particular time, I had no concept of precisely what he might be suggesting, as a consequence of myriad moon-light porch chats at his…
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ORIGINAL “SPIN”, CHILDHOOD FRIENDS, & A LIFE LED BATTLING “-ISMS”
Publisher Rick fired off an e-mail to “Homeward Angle” Susie inquiring where I might have gotten to, after this deplorably lengthy “Climate Change” winter of my discontent. My reply lies herein: Incredibly, John Lennon and I have much in common…”all I am saying is give peace a chance!” I’m totally convinced that the aforementioned 60s…
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ONE FROM THE HEART–TO “CAROL & CORKIE” WHEREVER THEY MAY BE…
Time passes too quickly. More than 60 years ago, I rushed home from another tedious yet edgy school day, quite impatient with our West Ward School’s patrol boys (crossing “guards”) always impeding my progress. So impatient to rip off their plastic yellow banner-straps strung across their little, puffed up chests! Your 15 minute show, “Carol & Corkie” sponsored…
Misunderstood Gargoyles and Overrated Angels 