Real Root Beer and Coca Cola

During my childhood in the 1950’s, the consumption of beverages was completely different than it is now. The most common beverages were coffee for the grownups, milk and Kool-Aid for the children. The coffee was just plain old percolated coffee, no decaffeinated or Starbucks, no espresso or cappuccino, no latte or mocha. The milk was good old whole milk, pasteurized but not homogenized, no 2% or skim, no chocolate unless you added Hershey’s chocolate syrup yourself. Of course we drank water, but it was simply water straight from the kitchen tap or well, not bottled unless you poured some into a big glass bottle to keep cool in the refrigerator. Life was much simpler then.

Once in a blue moon, we might be treated to a Coca Cola instead of Kool-Aid on Saturday evening when we had company. Mom would bring home a six-pack of Coke from the store, not in liter bottles or even 16-ounce bottles, but rather in the standard 6-ounce bottles, in glass no less! Each precious bottle had to be shared with at least one sibling (if not two) and poured over ice to make it go further. That one little six-pack would serve all seven of us kids, plus Mom & Dad and perhaps four to six guests.

One Sunday we went to visit some cousins on another farm. In the late afternoon when it was time for “lunch” (which was defined as a snack in mid-morning, mid-afternoon or evening), we kids received the ultimate treat: one whole bottle of Coke (6-ounce, of course) for each of us, with a soda straw! Life was so simple then that I relished experiencing three complete burps instead of the customary single and ineffectual burp from a small glass of Coke with ice.

A staple when I was growing up was Kool-Aid, which was a fruit-flavored beverage powder to which you normally added a cup of sugar and two quarts of water. It was very cheap at five cents or less per packet and easy to have on hand. My favorite was always cherry, but we also had grape, orange, lemon and a few other flavors. Sometimes we would get a bit more creative with the Kool-Aid and add a sliced orange or freeze cherries inside the ice cubes. Once, we even added club soda instead of water to make our own soda. Martha Stewart would have been so proud!

One summer we decided to make our own root beer soda and bottle it ourselves. I don’t remember the exact process, but we carefully blended the root beer syrup extract with water and other ingredients. We washed, scrubbed and sterilized old bottles, then lovingly filled each of them with exactly the right amount of soda. We used a manual capper to seal a bottle cap onto each bottle and stored them neatly in the cool cellar. Now all we had to do was wait until our tasty brew was ready to drink.

Some days [weeks?] later, we heard a muffled noise from the basement. As we ran down the stairs, we heard more popping and crashing. The corner section of the cellar where we had so carefully stored our root beer bottles was now an oozing disarray of glass, bottle caps and syrupy soda. Our much anticipated fizzy root beer had morphed into a fizzled mess instead. Oh well, back to the Kool-Aid.

Pennies from Heaven

There is an old wives’ tale that when you find a penny it may be a Penny from Heaven. Personally, I had never given it much thought, except that it was silly. However, I had a complete change of heart about it in 2002 when I was going through an especially rough period.

My dear Mother had died suddenly in her sleep and I was devastated by the loss of my best friend, my biggest cheerleader and my confidante. We had always been very close and I found myself crying for hours at a time. In fact, I was afraid I would never stop. For a long time, I was mad at Mom for leaving and I was mad as Hell that God had taken her. It just wasn’t fair that I never had a chance to say good-bye. I felt terribly alone and abandoned.

Then one Sunday morning during Mass, I noticed a single penny sitting on the narrow wooden frame of the upholstered chair in front of me. I would have sworn that penny was not there when we first sat down, but there was no denying its appearance. When I picked up the penny, it felt surprisingly warm in my hand. I immediately felt a powerful sense of peace and comfort. In that split second, I became a believer in Pennies from Heaven. This one told me that Mom was happy in Heaven and that she loved me.

During the years since then, I have frequently found other Pennies from Heaven. Each time a coin appears, it reaffirms that I am not alone. Most often, sighting a penny lets me know that Mom is sending her love. Sometimes she even helps me solve problems. One snowy winter night, I was leaving the office in another state long after most people had already gone home. After tramping through 5 or 6 inches of pristine but rapidly accumulating snow, I had unlocked my car and dumped in my computer bag, my purse and my briefcase.

When I reached for my car keys, they were nowhere to be found and thoroughly searching the car was to no avail. It had been an especially long frustrating day and I was cold and tired, hungry and discouraged. I laid my head on the steering wheel and silently prayed for help. With a little glimmer of hope, I got out of the car and searched again. Repeatedly sweeping my foot back and forth through the snow, I finally heard the distinctive tinkle of keys! As I jumped back into the car to start the engine, I was gratified to spot a shiny penny on the floor mat. Mom was with me once again.

Each of my found pennies is a personal treasure. I may never convince everyone else, but I believe that Pennies from Heaven provide comfort when I need it the most.

Tips on Interviewing - Part 6

Part 6 of a 6-part series on interviewing tips to capture stories from other people.

6. In conclusion…

a. Thank them again - Thank them for taking the time to tell their wonderful stories.

b. Take a picture – Consider taking a photo of your subject. You may want to include the picture in your final story, to share with others or to keep for your own reference. Unfortunately for me, I did not consider doing this when I first started out and one of my favorite subjects passed away shortly afterward.

c. Follow up – In case you have any questions, ask if you can contact them again.

d. The finished product – You may want to ask if they would like to see the final product that you create. In fact, you may offer to give them a copy of what you have written, but that will be up to you. Remember that they may enjoy seeing their own stories in print, too!

Tips on Interviewing - Part 5

Part 5 of a 6-part series on interviewing tips to capture stories from other people.

5. No story to tell?

a. Nobody is interested – Some people don’t think they have a story to tell and that their life is nothing out of the ordinary. In reality, everyone has a story! They just need some encouragement to tell it to you.

b. Questions break the ice – Your list of questions will help the person remember stories to tell you. You can encourage them to think about specific topics, such as where they have lived, what it was like growing up, how they came to this city or what their favorite games were. General topics also help begin a conversation, such as where were they during World War II, what they liked best (or least) about school or what pets they have had.

c. Useful memory joggers – Consider bringing along some memory joggers to the interview, such as old photos, letters of newspaper clippings. If you are looking for stories about a particular period, such as the Great Depression for example, you can bring a book on the subject.

d. Tell me more… - Encourage them by using simple responses: Tell me more about your pet skunk, How did you feel after winning the spelling bee or Have you ever wanted to go back to visit the old homestead.

Tips on Interviewing - Part 4

Part 4 of a 6-part series on interviewing tips to capture stories from other people.

4. Impromptu questions

a. Develop good interview skills – Start with a prepared list of questions or topics to discuss, but feel free to expand to other areas on the fly. Impromptu (unplanned) questions may turn out to be the best ones.

b. Lead-ins to other questions – Often times their response will lead you to think of another question that is not on your list. Go for it! Some of the best human interest stories happen because the speaker opened up an unexpected door to another subject. These can be exciting discoveries. For example, as Grandma is telling you about her 3rd Grade experiences, she may say “Oh! That reminds me. Did you ever hear about the time your dad got kicked out of the 3rd Grade for…?”

c. Don’t interrupt - save it for later – While the person is responding to your question, they may trigger other questions in your mind. If they are still talking, do not interrupt them! Let them finish their train of thought first. You can jot down the question to remind yourself to ask it a bit later. If Grandma hasn’t told you as much as you’d like to know, ask her, “What else did my dad do in 3rd Grade that was funny?”

Tips on Interviewing - Part 3

Part 3 of a 6-part series on interviewing tips to capture stories from other people.

3. Really listen to the other person

a. Give your undivided attention – Treat this interview as your one and only chance to understand this person’s story. You never know when circumstances may prevent you from having another opportunity.

b. Let the other person talk – Ask your question, then listen to what they say. Don’t interrupt while they answer and don’t argue if your opinion differs. You want to record what they have to say, not so much your own responses and stories

c. Read their body language – Watch for visual clues: Are they reluctant to answer your question? Are they having a hard time forming a response and need some encouragement? Are they getting choked up and need a glass of water?

d. Wait until they finish – As they are speaking, they may think of something else to tell you. If it looks like they are thinking, give them more time to respond. These may be some of the best and most meaningful answers you will get.

Tips on Interviewing - Part 2

Part 2 of a 6-part series on interviewing tips to capture stories from other people.

2. Record the conversation

a. Why record? Take some notes during an interview, but remember it is easy to get caught up in the conversation. You might be thinking about your next question instead of giving the conversation your undivided attention. For that reason alone, I recommend using a simple recording device so you can listen to it again at your leisure.

b. Listen first! - Before you start the interview, listen carefully for any noises in the room. Remove or move away from anything that may be distracting or picked up on the recorder. That could be noise from the street, other people who are close by, an electric heater that hums, telephones, chiming clocks or a dozen other things. During one interview I had, we were interrupted by a phone call. Even though someone else took the call in another room, my recording picked up her conversation more clearly than my own. And she was some 10 feet away from us!

c. Interruptions – If there is an interruption, such as a knock on the door, an airplane flying overhead or a baby crying, stop the interview for a few moments. Take care of the disturbance and then continue. If some time has passed, you might want to repeat the last question or remind the interviewee where they were.

d. Recording devices – There are many recording devices available. Select one that you feel comfortable using. It could be a cassette tape recorder, a digital recorder, an MP3, a camcorder, etc. Whichever you choose, make sure you have enough extra batteries and storage for the entire interview. Murphy’s Law says that “Anything that can go wrong will!” And the odds are that the most fascinating part of any interview will occur when you can’t record it.